


A Taste of Evil

by Nyx Nox (Nellis123)



Series: Ways to be Wicked [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Ben & Uma Friendship (Disney: Descendants), Bisexual Evie (Disney), Bisexual Mal (Disney), Carlos de Vil Needs a Hug, Chad Charming Being an Asshole, Evie & Carlos de Vil Friendship, Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil as Found Family, Gen, Lesbian Audrey Rose (Disney), Mal & Uma Friendship (Disney), Minor Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Minor Jay/Carlos de Vil, Protective Jay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellis123/pseuds/Nyx%20Nox
Summary: As the new king, Ben is tasked with undoing the wrongs his father placed on the Isle. The task proves to be a challenge when shocking news of certain villain children’s parentage gets revealed. Ben and Mal need to trust their friends and seek out a few enemies to ensure equality for Auradon and the forgotten citizens on the Isle of the Lost.
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Jay/Carlos de Vil
Series: Ways to be Wicked [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055459
Comments: 19
Kudos: 107





	1. Lesser of Many Evils

**Author's Note:**

> The sequel to Even Villains Love their Kids. The author suggests reading that fic before diving into this one.
> 
> Much like the story before this one, there WILL be references to abuse and neglect throughout this work. If that makes you uncomfortable, don't pass go or collect the $200 at the end of the chapter. I will add content warnings as needed. Cross-posted on FFN.
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam spends a few days with Anastasia and her children. Unsurprisingly, he does not receive a warm welcome from them.

The month of December should have brought an unbearable amount of cold to the Isle of the Lost. Things were made slightly more tolerable for the island’s doomed citizens since Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay kept a close eye on what Auradon used during cold weather and made a list of necessities that needed to be sent to the Isle.

Hats, gloves, coats, hand and foot warmers, and blankets were among the most important things to be sent over. Boots, scarves, and extra socks were considered accessories since the majority of the children and adults on the Isle knew how to survive the cold weather.

Anastasia Tremaine and her husband were thrown off by the act of kindness that came from the royals in Auradon. New clothes for the entire family and a feast were offered in exchange for their taking Adam in for a few days toward the end of the month.

They were not given an explanation about why the visit was necessary but someone had tipped them off that her family was one of the least problematic to roam the Isle. Her worrying about not having enough space or the proper welcome for him was accompanied by a comment about the ex-king wanting to get a better idea of how the Isle ran since they were a people under Auradon’s rule.

It took three hours to decide on the matter of welcoming Adam into their home. An hour of husband and wife speaking to one another, an hour to run it by their unsupportive children, and an hour of conversing with Ben and Belle were needed to make the decision.

In the end, they agreed to take him in. The only catch was Anastasia wanting to make sure Drizella’s children were given new winter gear as well. They decided against the feast since Anastasia didn’t feel comfortable getting different food than what was regularly on the Isle. It seemed unfair to offer it to her children to have to go back to haggling for canned goods.

“Lose the pout,” Anastasia glanced over at the ex-king of Auradon and rolled her eyes. “I get that look enough from Anthony. I don’t need someone else throwing it at me.”

She was in the process of getting dinner ready. Prepping the meager meal of hot water and canned vegetables mixed together usually didn’t take very long.

Time seemed to drag since Adam was in a sour mood and one of her sons had gotten mad enough to storm out of the house and claim he was going to find dinner elsewhere.

“It’s kind of funny though, isn’t it?” Her daughter said from beside her. She was cutting up a loaf of moldy bread and looked over at where Adam sat.

“What are you on about, Antoinette?” Anastasia cast her a sideways glance. “You can cut one of those in half for me and your father to split. Don’t bother setting one aside for Antonin. We have two extra mouths to feed.”

“Anthony’s mouth gets the same little dimple Beast’s does,” The teen shrugged and threw another look in the newcomer’s direction. “And the same furrow in their eyebrows when they look annoyed.”

She tossed an innocent look in Adam’s direction since he gave her a confused look then wiped her hands on her dress. “Should I grab a bowl for Antonin?”

“I don’t understand what you are on about,” Anastasia answered and shook her head. “And I suppose so. Toss a plate over it so it doesn’t chill.”

Her daughter glanced around to make sure her father and siblings weren’t in the small area that served as the kitchen. Auburn ringlets bounced from the movement and she tried blowing a few strands of hair from the front of her face.

“He hasn’t stopped insisting on being called Lord Tremaine since the new photo of the pri— King went up,” She whispered. “Ginny keeps suggesting he may actually be of royal blood.”

“Still not understanding,” Anastasia wrinkled her nose. She sniffed at the pitiful excuse of soup then sighed. “It needs something extra. Grab the can of chicken noodle from the cupboard.”

“Wait seriously?” Antoinette’s face lit up. Her parents had a strict rule about not touching the soup cabinet unless someone was dangerously ill.

“Seriously,” Her mother nodded. “I still expect an explanation from you once you’re back.”

Antoinette skipped over to the cabinet and squealed with excitement, rocking on the balls of her feet before she reached up to get the soup from the cupboard. “Anaya, Ana, you won’t believe what mum just said!”

The sound of running footsteps was heard from down the hall then the top of the twins’ heads were visible along the side of the doorway. As the youngest members of the family, they were excited to be included in something their siblings weren’t.

“What is it, Netti?” Anaya asked. She had a lisp from having lost her front teeth. The only way of telling the identical twins apart was their teeth. Anastasia (or Ana as she insisted on being called) still had her baby teeth while Anaya had a giant gap from where her teeth used to be.

“Chicken noodle soup with dinner,” Antoinette beamed. Anaya’s happy expression faltered. Anastasia shouted ‘yes!’ and stuck her tongue out at her sister.

“You and Andre owe me all of your change,” Ana giggled. “I told you we would get fancy food because of… of — whatever his name is.”

“Girls that’s not the proper way to speak about our...” Anastasia paused and wrinkled her nose. “Companions for this week.”

“That isn’t what Anthony said ‘bout them,'' Anaya looked confused. “Didn’t he call the king a bast—”

“Okay, enough of the stories,” Anastasia cut Anaya off before she could finish the curse word. “How about you and Ana let Anika, your dad, and brothers know supper is ready?”

“Why can’t Netti do it?” Anaya whined. Ana crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at her mother.

“Because she’s finishing up the bread,” Anastasia sighed. “Now run along, we don’t want the soup to get cold.”

“Fine,” Anaya groaned then the two took off running. Antoinette gave a low laugh since she could hear Ana shouting about how she was right in guessing they would have soup for dinner.

“You were saying?” Anastasia raised an eyebrow at her oldest daughter. Antoinette shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s not important,” She murmured. Anastasia tilted her head to the side and Antoinette grimaced. “Just that — Well, Harry Hook keeps saying the mainland tried thinning out the bloodline by getting donors from there and… Anthony looks the least like any of us. So it’d make sense if he…It’s just a rumor though and Harry—”

The rest of her thought was lost to her siblings traipsing in. Anastasia studied each child to make sure they were as clean as she had requested.

“Anika, Andre, what happened to washing your hands after exploring outside?” She sighed. Anika looked down at her hands and frowned.

“Momma, granny let me practice dying hair. It didn’t want to scrub off,” The teen’s hands were green colored. It wouldn’t have bothered her if she wasn’t trying to make a good impression on the guard and Adam.

“And I fell out of a tree,” Andre frowned. “Anthony laughed at me.”

“Did not,” The brunette shook his head. “I told you the branch couldn’t be trusted and you got on it anyway.”

“Whatever you say,” Andre grumbled. “Lord Tremaine.”

“Boys, that’s enough,” Their father’s voice was heard before he was seen.

“Daddy!” Anaya and Ana cried out and each hugged one of his legs. Lathyn chuckled and walked into the main room of the rundown flat he and Anastasia raised their family in.

“One goose,” He chuckled and shook the leg with Ana on it. The little girl giggled and beamed up at him. “Two goose.” He did the same with the leg Anaya was on. Two sets of giggles were heard then the twins let go of him.

“We missed you,” Anaya murmured. “Guess what!” Anastasia said at the same time.

“What, my Ana banana?” Lathyn stooped down so he could make eye contact with his daughter.

“Mommy mixed chicken noodle soup in with dinner,” She beamed. “Naya and Andre were wrong.”

“Way to rub it in,” Andre rolled his eyes. “The special guest deserves special food. I should’ve known.” Ana stuck her tongue out at him then walked to the opposite side of the room.

A table with a broken leg was awkwardly balanced in the center of the room. Several textbooks stacked on top of each other helped even out the table so food didn’t end up on the ground. There were a few stools and chairs around it. The items consisted of different designs and types of wood and were an eyesore to Adam.

Adam took a deep breath once the family was quiet and stood near the table. He and the royal guard from Auradon felt incredibly out of place.

“Your choice for a seat,” Anastasia announced after getting tired of watching the two males stand off to the side of the room.

“Right,” Adam nodded and took a seat to the left of Anthony. His guard sat on the other side of him.

“Thank you for this err…” He made a face while trying to find the right word, quickly masking it because one of the twins was staring at him. “Delectable meal.”

Knowing not to expect a feast left him with little hopes about the meal as a whole. The only downside was having dismissed the transfer students’ worries about food as an exaggeration. Learning they weren’t joking about the meager meals should have made him feel guilty. Instead, he was left disappointed and torn between excusing himself from the meal or suffering through it.

Suffering through it was the unspoken option since Anastasia’s children were all staring at him. The boy to his right raised an eyebrow at him and wore a haughty expression. Her other five had similar expressions, waiting to see what the royal did with the food he was offered.

“You’re being rather rude,” Anthony scoffed after three minutes spent staring at Beast. He hadn’t touched the food.

“Anthony,” Anastasia gave her son a warning look. The teenager rolled his eyes before speaking again.

“What?” He scowled. “It would have meant a little more soup for each of us if we knew he wasn’t going to eat.”

“Making blind assumptions, are you?” Adam turned to get a proper look at the teen that was mouthing off. He nearly did a double-take since the boy had a striking resemblance to his son.

Brown hair with a slight curl to it, a similar jaw angle, and the same annoyed look Ben usually had when he didn’t like what he was being told. The similarities were easy to dismiss but there was no denying that Anthony didn’t look like his siblings.

The other children had light-colored hair ranging from shades of blonde to red. His hair was the darkest of Anastasia’s children.

He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at the teen, allowing a beat of silence to pass before he braced himself and took a spoonful of the soup Anastasia made.

There was nothing noteworthy about it. The temperature was lukewarm, there were few vegetables in it, and the chicken noodle soup that got added in did nothing to the taste of it.

“Wonderful,” He said through gritted teeth and forced down another spoonful. The bread was the one thing he hadn’t touched.

“Tastes better if you dip the bread in it,” Anthony rolled his eyes then dunked some of his bread into his soup. Adam wrinkled his nose since there was mold visible along the edges of the slice.

“Do you need one of us to spoon feed you?” Antoinette asked when Adam was back to staring blankly at the bowl in front of him. She earned an eyebrow raise from her mother and shook her head.

“What?” She asked then gave him a dirty look. “He’s probably used to having people serve him.”

“What was the one thing—” Antoinette shook her head before her father got the chance to finish what he was trying to say.

“I’m being serious in asking,” She scoffed. “Perfectly civil if you must know. They didn’t send an instruction manual for making sure he doesn’t go beast on us. We won’t know how to keep him comfortable if we aren’t able to ask questions.”

“Enough,” Anastasia narrowed her eyes at her daughter from across the table. “Finish your meal then go to bed.”

“I’m only saying,” Antoinette groaned. “And is no one going to mention the resemblance between Anthony and the new king?”

“Sis,” Anthony grimaced. He was trying to get people to call him Lord Tremaine but his family tended to use it mockingly every time he tried to share his opinion about the royal family. “Not you too.”

“Excuse me?” Adam raised an eyebrow, having realized the teen was referring to his son.

“Forget it,” Antoinette threw her spoon into the chipped bowl that had some soup left in it. “I’m not hungry anymore.” She pushed her chair out from beneath the table and stormed off to the bedroom she and her sisters shared.

“Did I say something wrong?” Anthony asked. His haughty expression was briefly replaced with a look of concern.

“No,” Anastasia shook her head. She cast a sideways glance at her husband. “You know how your sister’s imagination gets when she’s overtired.”

“Can I have what’s left of her soup?” Andre broke the awkward silence that settled over the family and their guests. His face lit up when his father gave a nod of his head and nudged the bowl toward him.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Anthony sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He went to stand up and paused, head tilting toward the doorway that led out of the home. “ Did Antonin say where he was going?”

“The pirates I presume,” Anastasia shrugged. “He had something about getting food elsewhere.”

“Of course,” Anthony grumbled. “I’ll be back in time to get the dishes done before bed.”

The rest of the meal was mostly silent. The remaining four children talked about how school went while Anastasia half-listened to their tales. Dragon Hall hadn’t been the most ideal schooling situation since she wanted her children to have a good education. She had hoped Auradon would have sent over enough books to homeschool the youngest three children but it never happened.

“Dizzy wouldn’t stop crying today,” Anika’s statement was the one that caught Anastasia’s attention. “I think Drakon started picking on her again.”

“Of course,” Anastasia grimaced. Dizzy was the youngest of her sister’s children. Closer in age to the twins and Anika than any of her own siblings and the only child Drizella wanted nothing to do with.

“Granny wasn’t happy about it,” The pre-teen made a face. “The crying and Drako being the reason for it.”

“You know what your grandmother’s opinion on crying is,” Anastasia reminded her. She caught Adam’s confused expression and decided to elaborate. “Save the tears for your pillow and don’t waste them if you don’t have one.”

Of Lady Tremaine’s daughters, Drizella was the one that expected her children to detach from their emotions. Anastasia didn’t believe in having her kids bottle everything up. Antonin, Anthony, and Antoinette had proven the attempt at hiding emotions didn’t work well.

They had mastered hiding their emotions when out in public and had proven time and time again to be rather sympathetic to their siblings and a few of their peers. The emotional outbursts that came from the three being close in age were made more manageable since encouraging them to talk to each other or write their thoughts out prevented them from exploding at her, Lathyn, and their younger siblings.

“While you’re here, can we talk about how mum and dad shouldn’t be here?” Anika shifted her gaze from her mother to Adam, taking on an incredibly serious expression for a child that looked no older than ten.

“Excuse me?” He furrowed his eyebrows together. The question was unexpected and a rather hard one to answer with little context.

“Yeah,” Andre nodded from beside his sister before Anastasia or Lathyn got the chance to redirect the conversation. “She found her true love and almost had happily ever after.”

“Then you made her, daddy, and Antonin move here for no reason,” Anika crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, taking a moment to blow several strands of blonde hair away from her nose. “If aunt Cindi didn’t think she was a villain, why didn’t you?”

“Your father was given a choice,” Adam shrugged. “He could have stayed in Auradon with your older brother if he wanted to.”

“Family doesn’t abandon family,” Lathyn narrowed his eyes at Adam. “Surely that was something your wife’s story should have taught you.”

“He didn’t learn from it,” Anika scowled. “And he should have since he was a horrible beast.”

“How does having held Belle captive make you any different from mom?” Andre added and glared at Beast from across the table.

“That’s enough,” Anastasia gave an exasperated sigh. “It’s time for you and your sisters to head to bed.”

“It’s fine,” Adam shook his head since the two children were still glaring at him across the table. His guard gave a low chuckle from beside him. “She decided she loved me and we got our happily ever after.”

“Yeah,” Anika made a face at him. “And dad decided he loves momma and gave her happily ever after then you took it.”

“He didn’t take it,” Anastasia spoke in an almost whisper that left Anika and Andre staring at her, uncertain if they heard her right. She cleared her throat and shook her head.

“But—” Anastasia held one finger up to get Anika to stop talking then sighed.

“He made it harder to get,” She shrugged. “But I still have my happily ever after since I have Lathyn and each of you.” It wasn’t the most ideal situation but it was better than not having her husband or any children at all. “And I still get to see my sister and my mother.”

“This isn’t happily ever after,” Andre shook his head.

“Yeah,” Anaya nodded even though she and Ana weren’t paying attention to what was being said.

“Evie’s dress,” Ana added and pouted. That had been the only thing any of the girls would talk about since the coronation happened.

“That’s enough,” Lathyn sighed. “Let’s get you four to bed.”

“But what about Antonin and Anthony?” Andre whined. It wasn’t fair that his older brothers got to explore the Isle at night while he was expected to go to bed.

“I’ll go look for Anthony. I’m expecting Antonin back before I return,” Anastasia murmured. “Adam you should join me. The route should be enough to get an overview of the Isle.”

Adam wrinkled his nose when his name was mentioned and went to shake his head, looking slightly alarmed since Lathyn spoke before he could say anything.

“That wasn’t an invitation,” The blond murmured. “There’s safety in numbers.” Adam merely raised an eyebrow at the comment.

“I get being set on not properly feeding and clothing people,” He continued. “But you couldn’t even keep the streets out here safe.”

Adam waited for the children to leave the table before speaking, head cocking to the side in thought.

“It’s exactly what anyone would expect when it comes to taking villains and having them live with each other,” He scoffed. “Precisely what the majority of them deserved after the way they treated the people of Auradon.”

“Precisely something I would expect to hear from the person that imprisoned a father and then made his daughter switch places with him,” Lathyn rolled his eyes. “Yet I see nothing indicating you belong here. Peculiar how quickly stories can be changed.”

“The twins are waiting for you,” Anastasia interjected before the two could get into an argument. Regardless of how many times she said not to, her family seemed set on continuing to bring up that they didn’t think they belonged on the Isle of the Lost. She agreed as well but had set the expectation of not constantly mentioning it while Adam was in their home.

“Right,” Lathyn sighed then left the room, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Adam before he disappeared. Anastasia pulled her hair back into a ponytail then stuck a ragged sweater on, earning an odd look from Adam when she was back near him.

“Didn’t we give you—” He trailed off when the redhead shook her head.

“Not a safe idea to wear it out during the night,” She murmured. “Too many shady characters out to risk wearing anything unusual.”

“And your children?” Adam raised an eyebrow at her since two of them weren’t home.

“Antonin is old enough to take care of himself and too stubborn to come home if Lathyn or I ask,” She shrugged. “Anthony is the one I’m off to try to find.”

“Anthony?” Adam questioned. There were too many kids to keep track of. He didn’t particularly care about getting to know each of them but there was something about the teen that left him curious.

“The middle one of my boys,” Anastasia answered. “I don’t know why Antoinette said what she did over dinner.”

Neither of them said anything until they got outside. Adam was thrown off at seeing how few lights there were outdoors. He didn’t have a phone on him and the watch on his wrist said 10:30. Auradon at least would have had things well lit up until midnight. His guard followed from several steps behind them.

“What was she hinting at, exactly?” Adam fell into step beside Anastasia. The biggest relief for him that evening was having agreed to dress like a civilian instead of royalty since he didn’t stick out. A few passersby kept scowling in Anastasia’s direction. She paid them no mind and shrugged her shoulders before answering him.

“Nothing important,” She shook her head, expression faltering since Adam arched an eyebrow at her. “My kids seem to think Anthony doesn’t look anything like them or their father.”

There was good reasoning behind that but Anastasia would never dare admit it to her husband or her children.

“Why is that?” Adam asked with a curious expression. The tour of the Isle so far hadn’t brought anything overly concerning about it. Sure, there were children in rags running about and some shadowy figures in the dark but it wasn’t terrible.

“Rumors,” She scoffed. “One of Captain Hook’s kids said something about Auradon providing sperm donations for women that wanted a child without needing to go through the whole mating thing.”

There was a brief pause then Anastasia shook her head, mumbling the rest of her thought.

“I know it’s true,” She added and narrowed her eyes at Adam. “No idea why you and the rest of Auradon would decide that was something worth investing in when you didn’t bother with checking that children were put into safe homes with capable mothers.”

“Excuse me?” Adam cocked his head to the side, opting to play dumb about the decision that ultimately landed him on the Isle.

“The shady donor setup,” The redhead scowled. “No names or photos attached and things having just a number attached. No follow up to make sure the child born out of it was properly cared for. I assume Belle and Cinderella would have been livid if they found out what was happening to the children produced out of it.”

Adam tilted his head to the other side in an attempt at feigning innocence. Anastasia narrowed her eyes at him.

“My sister almost drowned the girl she had since Mother wanted us each to produce a child with Auradon blood running through their veins,” She shuddered at the thought. “Mom found the child face down in the bathtub with her older sisters screaming about how Drizella wanted a boy and tried to get rid of her.”

“And you?” Adam asked after a prolonged moment of silence. “Not that it is any of my business.”

“Oh it most certainly is your business,” Anastasia scoffed. “It takes a twisted mind to come up with the idea of not bothering to support the women that took an interest in things. I’m almost willing to bet the little bit of money I have on your being here because your wife found out.”

Adam didn’t say anything and was saved from stammering out a poorly thought out explanation since Anastasia continued.

“Mother bullied me into trying once and was ecstatic I got a child out of the attempt,” She grimaced. “Lathyn thinks the child is his and I’ll be taking that secret to my grave. It was trying for one child or my mother finding a way to take the only child I had at the time away from me.”

The ex-king slowly opened and shut his mouth, uncertain of what to say after having that information dropped on him.

“An apology doesn’t seem fitting,” He mused, nearly left chuckling since Anastasia glared at him.

“Hardly,” She spat out. “Your choices left the lesser villains and their children doomed to an existence no one deserves. I said I wouldn’t get into it, but you need to hear it. The next three days will likely be full of my children questioning what made you decide Lathyn and I are stuck here and I’m not about to stop them at this point.”

Adam didn’t say anything. He shrugged to show he heard her and figured silence was the best option unless he wanted to risk being yelled at.

“If it isn’t the local harlot out and about,” A voice called out from ahead of Anastasia. The redhead stiffened and narrowed her eyes at him. “No sister to protect you this time.”

“Leave me alone, Hans,” Anastasia spoke through gritted teeth. She could smell the scent of alcohol on his breath.

“You found someone that isn’t your pathetic excuse of a husband, I see,” The male circled her and Adam, oblivious to the man that was keeping an eye on the pair from the shadows.

“A pretty one at that,” Hans took a step closer to Adam and looked him over, a hand rising up to take hold of his chin. “You would look better on your knees.”

“I beg your pardon,” Adam took a step back and found himself cornered between a building and the stranger.

“On your knees,” Hans barked out. He raised a hand to try to make him comply and was shocked to be shoved to the side, sent sprawling on the cobblestone path that led to the center of town.

“That’s enough,” The guard stood over him then stepped on his hand, a satisfied smirk spreading over his lips when the sound of a bone cracking was accompanied by Hans crying out in pain.

“You’ll regret this, you stupid whore,” He cautiously sat up and cradled his arm against his chest. “I’ll go after one of your daughters next.”

Anastasia didn’t say anything to him and continued on her way down toward the docks. She didn’t bother with looking back at Hans, only speaking once certain he wasn’t coming after her.

“I could have handled him myself,” She scowled at Adam and his guard. Her footsteps paused so she could pull a dagger from her boot. “The biggest lesson taught to my children is to always be prepared.”

The adults couldn’t be trusted once the sun went down so she and Lathyn kept strict expectations of the youngest children not being allowed to leave the tiny house they lived in. Their teenagers were a bit tougher to keep under control but had proven to be capable of taking care of themselves.

“It’s not the first time he’s tried something with me,” She added with a shake of her head. The threat of targeting one of her kids was certainly a new one but she would deal with that if something came out of it.

The rest of the walk along the path to the ocean was silent, Anastasia pausing before she reached the ship where the majority of the teens and unwanted children stayed. Her boys had made friends with a few of the pirate children and usually didn’t spend the night there. She was incredibly worried since Anthony had left to go after Antonin.

“Mum?” A voice came from her right. She raised an eyebrow at the owner, relieved to find her oldest children at her side.

“Why are you here?” Antonin asked. The red-headed boy was one of the oldest children on the Isle — having been among the infants that were banished to the Isle with their parents. He would have been in college over in Auradon but the Isle didn’t have opportunities available once teens aged out of school.

“You know I worry,” Anastasia snapped at him. Both her children raised their hands in an attempt at showing they weren’t up to anything. “You were gone long enough for Anthony to go looking.”

“Yeah,” The twenty-one-year-old rolled his eyes. “And I told him to leave me alone. He just gets in the way.”

“Hey,” Anthony frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “I do not.”

“Do too,” Antonin shook his head. “Things were going fine until you showed up and—” He trailed off since Anthony started laughing.

“You were asking for an interruption with the way you were sucking that girl’s face off,” He chuckled. “I would have expected more class from you.”

He took a step back since Antonin growled and tried to shove him off the dock. Anastasia pressed her tongue against her cheek and kept quiet, studying her oldest son.

“I’m not going to ask,” She muttered. “But next time save Anthony and I the trip if your ‘going to get dinner someplace else’ involves shacking up with someone for the evening. Keep an eye on Hans for me by the way.”

“Huh?” Antonin narrowed his eyes at his mother. “What did he say this time?”

“He threatened to go after one of your sisters.” The effect of Anastasia’s words on her sons was immediate. Antonin stiffened and Anthony growled a curse word under his breath.

“The bastard,” Antonin scowled. “Which way did he head?” Anastasia didn’t immediately answer him. As much as she wouldn’t mind Hans getting another lesson for trying to cross her, the idea of one of her kids risking their own wellbeing didn’t make it worth it.

“He already has a broken hand,” She shook her head. “Adam earned a few points for having his guard take care of him.”

“I’m going to get the other one,” Antonin said several swears then took off running. Anthony was left staring down at the ground beside his mother.

“I’ll go home,” He mumbled after a moment of silence then cast a sideways glance at Adam. “How come you’re here?”

“I wanted an idea of how things are done on the Isle,” Adam shrugged.

“As if you care,” Anthony scowled. “What made your son decide only four of us were allowed to go to school in Auradon and why’d he pick the kids he did?”

“I don’t know,” Adam muttered. “But if I had my way it would have been none of them in Auradon and my not being here.”


	2. Hard Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maleficent overhears Anthony whinging about the guest his parents took in and takes matters into her own hands by offering an ultimatum: The ex-king in exchange for her releasing Anthony from her clutches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini playlist for this chapter consisted of Zombie by Bad Wolves, Alleyways by the Neighbourhood, Gasoline by Halsey, Broken Like Me by Prairie Grass, and HandClap by Fitz & The Tantrums so IDK why it came out a little dark.
> 
> Please excuse Anastasia’s language. She’ll be dropping a few f-bombs. There is also a reference to breaking a bone in this chapter.

“He’s a total prick,” Anthony grumbled on his way back home from exchanging a few goods at Jafar’s shop. “And if it weren’t for having made a promise to my mother, I would hand him right over to my grandmother or the pirates.”

“What did he do?” Ginny asked from his left. She sounded bored with the conversation and didn’t look over at him when she spoke. He had been going off about the houseguest at his parents’ home for several minutes.

“He works closely with the royal family so I asked how the four teens from here were picked and why no one else got sent over,” He shrugged. “Not that I would go there anyway but it seems fishy that it was specifically Mal and her goons.”

“And?” Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, hoping that would be enough to get him to jump to the end of the conversation. She gave a sigh when he didn’t immediately answer and tugged her black curls back into a ponytail then sent an annoyed look in his direction.

Anthony paused and cleared his throat, taking on the stance Adam had when answering the question he asked.

“I don’t know,” He forced a fake French accent. “But if I had my way it would be all of them still here and my being in Auradon.”

“He didn’t,” Ginny gasped, now interested in the conversation. “Who did you say he was again?”

“Just some idiot that works in Auradon. Sent here to get a feel of how the Isle is being run,” He rolled his eyes, back to speaking in his usual accent. “The bastard doesn’t even seem to think there’s anything wrong with my parents, me, and my siblings being stuck in a tiny home.”

“Well, it is better than what most of the larger families have,” Ginny shrugged. “I know mum would have thrown a fit if she didn’t get a place that was big enough for each of us to get our own room.”

“I’m stuck sharing a room with Antonin and Andre,” Anthony grumbled. “I don’t understand how Antoinette is managing to get by without fighting any of our sisters. There are four of them in one space. Mum and dad gave up their room so all seven of us weren’t stuck together.”

“Yeah,” Ginny made a face. “Makes me grateful I’m mother’s only kid.” Not that her mother cared all that much about her as it was. She was happy to not need to fight for the little attention she got from her.

“What did he think of the food?” She asked after a beat of silence. “Or should I say ‘of the lack of food?’”

“He didn’t touch it,” Anthony scoffed. “Mom mixed chicken soup into it to make sure we all got something to eat. He took one bite because I called him out on not eating and nothing came out of it. Antoinette and I were in the wrong for having spoken poorly to him.”

“Why is your mom taking his being here so seriously?” Ginny quirked an eyebrow at him. “It’s not like he’ll be able to take your family off the Isle or anything.”

“I don’t know,” He shrugged. “But she had to talk to the queen and the new king and assure no harm would come out of his being here.”

“Seriously?” She scoffed and wrinkled her nose. “And what made them pick your family anyway?”

“It’s a known fact that my mother shouldn’t be here,” Anthony muttered. “Surely you’ve heard my grandmother go off about mum being an idiot for being sent here and insisting she try to behave to be sent back. Antoinette asked why we’re over here if something similar happened with Belle’s beast. I’ve not seen her get that mad since the day Antonin tried claiming he wanted nothing to do with the family anymore.”

“Your mother, mad?” Ginny asked. It was a slightly unbelievable trait since Anastasia was one of the kinder people on the Isle.

“More like she was disappointed,” Anthony shook his head. “That thing where she stops the conversation and gets sad looking until whoever caused it stops or fixes what they did. Apparently, we aren’t supposed to pepper the houseguest with questions about Auradon.”

“Auradon?” The voice that spoke the question caused Anthony and Ginny to freeze. The teens inched closer to each other and Anthony brushed his thumb over the back of Ginny’s hand before plastering a scowl over his lips.

“I don’t understand why that’s any of your business,” He scoffed and turned to face the adult, shrinking back a little since he was expecting a pirate to deal with. Instead, he was looking right at Maleficent. Wide-eyed and regretting the tone he used.

“Anything involving the Isle or Auradon is always my business,” Maleficent scowled down at him. Anthony ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. “Your family didn’t think it necessary to mention having a houseguest to me.”

The need to be stubborn was trying to take over. It kept Anthony with his tongue pressed against his cheek, doing everything he could to keep from snapping something sarcastic out.

“Well?” Maleficent asked when neither teen answered. Ginny and Anthony exchanged a look with each other.

“Why does it matter to you?” Ginny spoke up. There was little Maleficent could do to make her or her mother more miserable than they already were. She had a feeling Anthony wanted to ask the same question.

“Rumor has it there’s a royal among our ranks,” Maleficent stated in a bored tone. “Word on the Isle says they’re staying at your home.” She reached forward and nudged Anthony. He stumbled back and shook his head.

“No, no royals at home,” He muttered. “My siblings won’t even call me Lord Tremaine.”

There was a beat of silence then Maleficent took a step forward, eyes narrowing at the boy.

“Look, you little bastard,” She hissed out then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “I know Beast is on the Isle.”

Anthony bit down hard on his lips to keep from whimpering. The teen took a deep breath through his nose and slowly exhaled, allowing his gaze to meet Maleficent’s once the feeling of panic was gone.

“You’re delusional,” He glared at her. “I truly have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Right, I’m out,” Ginny winced and took off running, not wanting to be part of whatever followed Anthony’s insult.

“Excuse me,” Maleficent raised an eyebrow at him, daring the boy to say something else.

“Delusional,” Anthony repeated. “What makes you think the—” He inhaled sharply since Maleficent dug her nails into the patch of skin just above his collar. The teen grit his teeth and forced a smile at her. “I’m not supposed to say anything.”

“My question is which sibling will it take threatening to get you to spill?” She asked and dragged her nails down, smirking at the small dots of blood that appeared.

“Get in line,” Anthony spoke through gritted teeth. “Hans already claimed getting back at my mother over something petty.”

“Wrong answer,” There was a beat of silence then Maleficent shoved him hard enough to make him land on the ground. Anthony winced since he used his elbows to take the majority of the blow from his landing. He dug his teeth into the inside of his lower lip and quickly replaced his mixed look of shock and pain with an angry expression.

Maleficent took a step forward, smirking since she was able to tower over the teen. Being tall for his age should have left Anthony at an advantage since Maleficent was shorter than both his parents. Underestimating what she could do was a mistake he didn’t plan on making again.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Anthony,” She announced in a singsong. Anthony gave her a calculated look, cautiously examining her and their close surroundings to see if he had a way out.

“I’ll give you three seconds to make your choice,” She added and took another step closer to him. “It would be a shame if I had to hurt that pretty face of yours. One, two…”

Anthony swiftly got to his feet and ran, heading back toward where his family’s home was. He didn’t bother with looking behind him since he figured Maleficent wouldn’t give chase.

He arrived at the house in record time and took a moment to catch his breath. His moment of triumph was short-lived since looking up revealed two of the people that did the dirty work for Mal and Maleficent.

“Great,” He muttered and pressed his tongue against his cheek, steeling himself when he moved closer to them.

“Not another step,” One of the men growled out. Anthony put his hands up and stood still.

“Fine, fine,” He grimaced and narrowed his eyes at the man. “How did you get here before me though?”

No one said anything. Anthony made a face and leaned around the one that was blocking his path, hoping to spot something that belonged to Ginny outside of the house. _Not that she owed him or anything but it would have been brilliant luck if she had tipped off one of his siblings that he may have been getting himself into more trouble than it was worth._

No sign of Ginny. Just the sound of the slashed screen door opening and revealing the youngest of his sisters. Ana looked incredibly confused at spotting the two guards.

“An-” The rest of her name trailed off before he got it out, interrupted by a wince since one of the men took hold of his right arm and twisted it up behind his back.

“Not another word,” The man hissed out in his ear. “We’ve permission to do whatever damage is necessary before _she_ gets here.”

Anthony nodded then locked eyes with his sister. He cautiously raised his left hand up and signed a small circle with his index finger, ending with pointing back toward the door when he got back to where his finger had started, silently telling her to go inside.

His sister tilted her head to the side to show she saw his hand move. He gave a short twitch of his head then slowly raised his left hand, keeping it close to his stomach to avoid getting the adults’ attention on him.

He held his hand up with his palm facing his sister then curled his fingers into his palm, tucking his thumb between his ring and pinky fingers. Her gaze shifted to his hand and he took his thumb out from between his fingers, resting his thumb against the side of his hand. He gave a second for her to look and switched to the final letter of his message, lifting his index finger up and extending his thumb out to make a right angle between the two digits. _M. A. L._ The rest of the letters weren’t necessary since the younger of the two wasn’t on the Isle.

Ana pressed her tongue against her cheek then slowly backed into the house. The message was received and she ran to find one of her parents the moment she was out of the doorway.

Two minutes of silence passed, the lack of noise occasionally ruined by Anthony wincing since the man had yet to release his arm. The front door opened and the man behind Anthony twisted his arm further back, threatening to break or pop something out of place.

Anthony forced a smile over his lips when his father approached where he and the two men were. Lathyn didn’t look at his son, opting to lock eyes with the man that had a grip on him.

“Can I help you with something?” He narrowed his eyes, deliberately keeping his gaze off Anthony.

“Not until our boss arrives,” The man grunted and pulled Anthony’s arm back further. Anthony winced and shut his eyes since the pain was bordering on making him throw up or something worse. “Your boy opted for the hard way of going about things.”

Lathyn didn’t immediately say anything, willing himself not to look at his son since he couldn’t trust his own temper.

“What is this about?” He asked after a moment of silence. “If he broke something I assure you we can get it fixed or find something to replace it with.”

Maleficent’s cackle was heard before she appeared, the sound continuing until she stood in between the father and son.

“Broke something?” She laughed. “Oh no, that’s hardly the case. Something of higher importance than that. Surely you must know why I am here.”

“No idea,” Lathyn answered with a shake of his head. The lie escaped smoothly through his lips.

“Enough,” Maleficent snapped. “Your options are to hand over the king now or my keeping the boy until you decide to do so.”

“There is no king here,” Lathyn answered calmly. Maleficent gave a nod then the man holding Anthony forcibly pulled the teen’s arm upward, smirking when one of the bones made a cracking sound.

Anthony dug his teeth into his lower lip and forced his eyes shut, blinking back tears while he willed himself not to cry or vomit. The man released him from the armlock and he dropped to the ground. He curled into himself and did his best to stay quiet.

“I can do much worse,” Maleficent announced. Lathyn hadn’t moved since the two men were still near his son. He couldn’t risk having the same thing happen to himself since he relied on his hands to make a living.

“Like I said,” Lathyn spoke through gritted teeth. “There is no king in my household.”

“The _ex-king_ then,” She clarified, eye color shifting to green when she glared at him. “I expect him now or we’ll be holding onto your pathetic excuse of a son until I get my way.”

“Go ahead,” Lathyn scowled down at Anthony. The teen’s head shot up, eyes locking with his father since that was the one answer he didn’t want to hear. “He isn’t my son.”

The words sinking in felt worse than the damage done to his arm, causing Anthony to jump to his feet and rapidly shake his head.

“N-N-No,” He stammered out nervously, not flinching when one of Maleficent’s men took hold of his good arm. “You can’t — I…” He fell silent since his father went back into the house without another word.

“Interesting,” Maleficent mused then approached Anthony. He shrunk back, wincing when the movement jostled his arm. There was nowhere to run off to since he was cornered.

“They must seriously like the houseguest if they’re willing to hand you over,” She continued. “Now to find out if it’s your behavior or something else that made daddy give you up without a fight.”

“The behavior,” Anthony grumbled and kept his gaze focused on the ground. All three of Lathyn’s sons were taught from a young age that it was on them to face the consequences of their actions instead of expecting mom and dad to solve their problems. It wasn’t the first time he had heard the ‘not my kid, not my problem’ excuse but it certainly hurt more than the last predicament he got himself into.

The man that didn’t have a grip on Anthony covered his nose and mouth with his hand, chuckling since the teen didn’t struggle to try to get out of the position he was in. 

Things went black for Anthony and he woke up sometime later, upright and uncomfortably pressed against a wall. He kept his eyes shut and used his other senses to figure out what happened. His right arm lay limp against his side - his main worry coming from the whole thing feeling like it was numb. The left was behind his back with some sort of restraint attached to it. The same style restraints were connected around his ankles.

He shifted his jaw to check that nothing was out of place and was relieved to discover his head felt okay. Opening his eyes was a slow process that involved barely raising his eyelids to make sure there wasn’t anyone directly in front of him.

“This seems a bit much,” Anthony fixed a scowl over his lips and fully opened his eyes. He was in a small room that didn’t have a window attached to it, only recognizing it as part of Bargain Castle because the stone design matched the interior of the few rooms he had seen when working on a project with Mal.

The wall across from him had purple tally marks along it. The longest set of numbers in a row was ten. He recognized Mal’s name etched somewhere below along with a few stick figures.

“This seems a bit much,” Maleficent mocked him. He jumped since there was no one else in the room, immediately biting down on his lips to keep quiet. Quickly glancing around revealed the only entrance to the room he was in. There was a small window that Maleficent was eyeing him through.

“It is,” Anthony mumbled and risked looking up at her. “I’m one of seven. Mum and dad have two extra mouths to feed. They’re not going to be in a rush to get me back.”

“That may be true,” She mused. “But I can think of someone else that might want you back. I’ve set a perfect trap and you are at the center of it.”

“The perfect trap?” He frowned and tried to take a step forward, grunting since the restraints around his arm and legs kept him from moving. 

“You’ve forgotten I have eyes all over the Isle,” Maleficent reminded him. “I’ve heard the whispers.”

“Whispers,” Anthony wrinkled his nose, trying to figure out what she was referring to. “You’re seriously keeping me here over rumors?”

“I have reason to believe there is some truth behind them,” She laughed since her statement earned a groan from the teen. “You watched the coronation, didn’t you?”

“Because we had a choice on that,” Anthony muttered. Maleficent ignored what he said.

“Surely the time spent checking your reflection out on whatever surface allows you to see it left you aware of the similarities between you and the new king,” She continued. “The curve of the nose and the jaw structure.”

“Ma says I got Granny and Drizella’s genes,” He spoke up before anything else could be said. “Not hers and dad’s. That’s why my hair is—”

“Idiot,” Maleficent snarled. “Do you not understand what I am getting at?”

“They’re just rumors,” He muttered. “Nothing based on anything factual so why bother trying to entertain them?” It had all stemmed from his classmates mocking his attempt at being called Lord Tremaine. Nothing more than their poking fun at him.

“Do you truly believe I would keep you here for the hell of it?” Maleficent narrowed her eyes at him. “Think about it, kid.”

“I mean,” Anthony winced since he tried to shrug his shoulders. “You let your men mess with my arm and Mal wasn’t exactly the—”

“Forget it,” She groaned. “I’m expecting someone to show up for you within the next twenty-four hours. It’ll be an exchange of you for the Beast or one of your parents realizing I’m not letting you off easily.”

“And if they don’t?” Anthony had a feeling he didn’t want to know the answer.

“Then you stay here and suffer,” Maleficent shrugged. She didn’t have a plan for his being there longer than 48 hours and would adlib if things went past that. “Enjoy it while you can.”

She put something over the small window she was speaking through that blocked the little bit of light that was trickling in, leaving Anthony in darkness.

“You let her take him?” Adam was struggling to understand Lathyn and Anastasia’s reasoning behind allowing Maleficent to take their son without putting up a fight.

“What choice did we have on the matter? It was him or you.” Anastasia pinched the bridge of her nose. “We swore no harm would come to you or the family would accept the consequences. I’ll have you know I’m regretting that decision now.”

“Noted,” Adam gave a bitter chuckle. “And what do you intend to do about the situation?”

“We should have the upper hand for the time being,” Lathyn ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t think she was expecting me to dismiss him the way I did.”

“Excuse me,” Anastasia raised an eyebrow at her husband. “That wasn’t what you—”

“Darling,” He grimaced. “I said he wasn’t my son in the hope of throwing her off a little.”

His wife narrowed her eyes at him, not bothering to say anything since the look of fury was enough to get her point across.

“She knows we value our family more than anything else,” He continued in a whisper. “Not reacting may have left her confused at my disconnecting from him.”

It had hurt not to be able to help but he trusted the teen enough to find a way out of trouble.

“What did she do to him?” Anastasia asked through gritted teeth. “Lathyn.” His name came out in a pained whisper when she wasn’t given an immediate answer.

“His arm may be broken,” He winced. “Her guard had a good grip on him. He knew not to struggle so it can’t be too bad.”

“Arm may be broken,” She groaned and ran her hands through her hair. “He ran his mouth again, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know,” Lathyn shook his head. He hadn’t gotten around to getting an explanation about what the issue was. “He didn’t steal or end up breaking anything. They mentioned him picking the hard way of handling whatever it is.”

“And she took him?” Anastasia asked after a moment of silence. She shifted her gaze from her husband to Adam. “What was the reasoning for that?”

“I think she’s wanting us to exchange him,” He pointed to Adam. “To get Anthony back.”

“Dare I ask why?” Adam’s words earned a scoff from Anastasia and Lathyn. The two rolled their eyes.

“I wonder,” Anastasia didn’t bother with hiding the sarcasm behind her words. “It couldn’t have anything to do with your being the reason we’re stuck here. Absolutely nothing involving the pitiful excuse of food the kingdom sends over. Oh no, it certainly wouldn’t be the lack of magic or basic health care.”

She glared at Adam and took a steadying breath. “Do you need me to continue or have I made my point clear?”

“Quite clear,” Adam reassured her. “What is the worst she can do?” The question earned a laugh from the other two adults. Adam exchanged an uneasy glance with his guard. There was nothing humorous about his question.

“We’re more at risk than you,” Anastasia shook her head. “Evil Queen and her daughter were banished for several years because she didn’t invite Maleficent’s daughter to a birthday party. She’s banned families from getting supplies from the docks, threatened kids’ well-being as a way of gaining compliance from their parents.”

“Terrible things,” Lathyn added with a shake of his head. “She has control over everything that comes into the Isle from the docks and enough power to keep all the shopkeepers from selling anything to us.”

“No magic but she’s still managed to rule with an iron fist,” Anastasia added then pressed her lips together. “No clue what things would mean for you since she doesn’t strike me as wanting to chat over tea. Not after the damage the kingdom has done to the Isle.”

“What does your son have to do with all of this?” Adam raised an eyebrow at her, still trying to figure out where Anthony fit in with everything.

“Contrary to what you may believe from the first impression our home offers,” Lathyn forced a chuckle. “We do care about all of our children and want what’s best for them.”

“He’s a pawn,” Anastasia muttered. “Keeping him away and not giving an update on how he’s doing for the sake of me and Lathyn deciding to hand you over.”

“You’re awfully calm about that,” The ex-king murmured. “It’s admirable in a way.”

“How charming,” She rolled her eyes. “But no. The kids can sense the moment something is off. Keeping a calm front means the house remaining calm.”

“Understandable,” Adam nodded. “Now what do we do about getting your son back?”

“The obvious answer is to hand you over,” Lathyn shrugged. Anastasia gave him a warning look. “But we’ll be taking a note from Anthony’s book and going about this the hard way.”

“The hard way?” Adam asked. Lathyn gave another shrug and looked at Anastasia. The situation wasn’t ideal and he would’ve happily handed the man across from him over if it didn’t mean further compromising the wellbeing of his family.

“We’ll need a plan of making the switch without making the switch,” Anastasia grimaced. “She’s got eyes everywhere so I don’t expect that to go well.”

“I might be able to call in a favor,” The man that was serving as Adam’s guard spoke up. “Either backup or some sort of plan to get him out without further harm brought to anyone.”

“What good will that do?” Anastasia glowered at him. “The last thing we need is the crown using force to get my son back.”

“It’s a backup plan,” He shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. “Get the boy back safely and make sure your family isn’t to blame if something goes wrong.”

“I’ll think about it,” She muttered then turned toward her husband. “Do you mind checking on Ana? She seemed pretty shaken.”

“On it,” Lathyn nodded then ducked into the hallway that led to where the children’s rooms were.

Anastasia allowed a beat of silence to pass then locked eyes with Adam, calculated gaze briefly darting over his form.

“You’re to blame for this,” She muttered then narrowed her eyes at him. “If you hadn’t—”

“Hadn’t what?” He raised an eyebrow when he replied, head tilting while he waited for her to finish her incomplete thought.

“Hadn’t done whatever you did to land you here,” She grumbled. “I wouldn’t have to be worrying about my son.”

“Right,” Adam shook his head. He hesitated for a moment before he continued. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“That depends,” She shrugged. “What do you plan on asking about?”

“Who would be the better question,” Adam muttered then took a steadying breath before continuing. “Your son.”

“My son,” She narrowed her eyes at him, already having a feeling the conversation was going to be about Anthony. “Which one of them?”

Adam pressed his lips together then ran his hand through his hair, needing a moment to take a deep breath before he answered. “The middle one.”

“The middle one,” Anastasia repeated then tilted her head toward the hallway that led to where her children were. Lathyn and the girls could be heard talking from down the hall. “What about him?”

“You wouldn’t happen to remember the number attached from when you decided to…” He trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. Anastasia crossed her arms over her chest then narrowed her eyes at him.

“Shouldn’t you know?” She spoke through gritted teeth. “Or was that another lapse in judgment where you neglected to pay attention to it?”

Adam didn’t immediately answer, paling since he had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate what he was going to say.

“A minor hiccup,” He shrugged. “The files went missing and we are diligently working to relocate it.”

“Then what does it matter to you?” She snapped and looked away from him. “Why do you need to know?”

“He resembles my son too much to not be curious,” Beast mumbled. He jumped back since Anastasia quickly turned to face him, looking angrier than he had seen over the past couple of days.

“Of course you fucking threw something into this mess,” She spoke through gritted teeth. “Why the fuck does it matter if none of you give a shit about us?”

Adam was taken aback, slowly opening and shutting his mouth before he managed to find something reasonable to say.

“The number, Anastasia?” He calmly asked. “I just need the number then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“He didn’t have one,” She scowled, focusing most of her self control on not yelling at him or insisting he leave her house. “Two zeroes and a princely sounding enough description for my mother to have decided he was the donor that needed to be used.”

Adam didn’t say anything, face getting paler than before. He tapped his fingers against the table he was sitting at and turned away from Anastasia. Guilt was pooling into his stomach.

_“Well, it can’t be done if we don’t get you to put something in. What sort of support is it if the King himself won’t participate?” The board member’s voice came flashing back in his memory. “Just one. Odds are likely it won’t take so no harm done.”_

“No harm done,” He mouthed to himself then took a steadying breath, slowly looking back up at Anastasia. “I’m double zero. The sperm wasn’t supposed to take since it took seven years of trying for me and Belle to get Ben.”

“Too funny,” Anastasia glared at him. “You expect me to believe that you — You imbecile. I can’t— No, I _refuse_ to acknowledge your part in things. He has me and his father. We don’t need you or your pity.”

Adam hung his head and refused to look at Anastasia. The regret he felt was enough to make him want to throw up the little bit of food he ate. There wasn’t much to be done to change the situation.

“You may need to,” He sighed after several minutes of Anastasia glaring at him. “Assuming Maleficent caught on to the obvious.”

“Fuck you,” Anastasia glowered at him. “And fuck your stupid little…” She trailed off since Adam shook his head.

“Where he may be one of mine I doubt Maleficent will leave him alone,” He muttered. “Things may be better off if I—”

“If you what?” Anastasia spat out. Angry tears began to pool from her eyes. “Take him back to Auradon and leave the rest of us here? It’s all of us or none of us since you’re the one that made this mess.” She paused to take a steadying breath, glaring at him. “You don’t get to waltz in and claim him as your own.”


	3. Be Our Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three out of four of the Isle teens get sick with pneumonia. Ben and Belle introduce them to holiday traditions.

Carlos awkwardly sat in the seat he claimed in Belle and Ben’s dining room, shifting uncomfortably while he waited for them to arrive. The others were not with him. Jay spent the night before sick as could be and was too tired to leave his bed. Evie and Mal turned down the invite to get food. Their voices sounded off to him but he dismissed it as their wanting to sleep in a little longer.

He absentmindedly tapped his fingers against the table while he waited. Food was already on the table but he didn’t feel comfortable with serving himself. Thoughts of his mother screaming at him for thinking food was for him still haunted him. They left him anxious about taking food and needing some sort of approval to do so from an adult or one of his friends.

It was something Mal wanted to work on his outgrowing but there were more insecurities beneath the surface. Not being comfortable with making his own decisions to meet his needs was just the tip of the iceberg.

Ben and Belle arrived a few minutes after Carlos got comfortable. The two looked concerned about Carlos being the only one in the room.

“Where are the others?” Ben asked once he sat down. “Running late or?” The rest of the question hung in the air since Carlos shook his head.

He and his mother exchanged a worried look with each other. Carlos still hadn’t been talking a lot. A few words escaped here and there but the teen seemed set on letting the others take over the conversations, content with listening and occasionally adding something in.

“Jay isn’t feeling well,” Carlos mumbled then looked up at Ben. “W-We were up m-most of the night.” Ben leaned in toward Carlos to hear him better, nose wrinkling when he finished talking.

“And Mal and Evie?” He raised a brow at the younger teen. Carlos shrugged his shoulders.

“‘Dunno,” He muttered. “M-Mal didn’t sound like Mal though.” He looked down at his lap and dug his teeth into his lower lip. “B-Both said they weren’t hungry.”

“Oh,” Ben worried his lip. It wasn’t like the three other teens to skip breakfast. The group wasn’t in the habit of eating a full meal but they still ate a little something when the family met to eat. “You can start breakfast without me. I’m going to check on the girls.”

“Mal won’t like that,” Carlos murmured then grabbed a few pieces of toast and some eggs. He lifted his fork and pushed the eggs around with it, not feeling up to eating quite yet.

“Was there anything else with Jay?” Belle asked once Ben left the room. Carlos looked up at her, eyes wide since she couldn’t have been speaking to anyone else.

“He wouldn’t stop coughing,” Carlos mumbled and curled into himself. “He k-k-kept getting hot and c-c-cold. Slept with the window open.”

“Why didn’t you come to get me?” Belle tilted her head to the side. Carlos looked confused at her question and gave a nervous laugh.

“Why would I have done that?” He asked with another laugh. The suggestion was truly ridiculous since the adult he was supposed to trust with raising him hadn’t cared about how he felt as long as he could still get housework done.

A moment of awkward silence ensued between the two. Belle opened then slowly shut her mouth. Carlos gave her a concerned look.

“Because he might need a doctor,” Belle answered. The teens were with her and Ben for several days so far and she still wasn’t used to their referencing things from the Isle. Being mindful of how they were raised was a habit she was trying to get into.

“It’s j-just a cough,” Carlos shook his head. “N-N-Nothing major.” He looked at Belle and bit his lower lip before talking again. “At least I think.”

“I’ll check on him once we’re done eating,” Belle tried to reassure him, looking puzzled since Carlos shook his head.

“He w-won’t like that, ma’am,” He gasped. “T-T-Too stubborn for help.” Part of the night was spent bickering since Jay didn’t want Carlos to worry about him.

“How are you feeling, Carlos?” Belle asked. She barely touched her plate since she was beginning to worry.

“F-Fine,” Carlos murmured. “N-N-Nothing to complain about.”

“You’re certain?” Belle raised an eyebrow at him. Carlos glanced down at his lap and nodded.

“A c-cough was the least of my pr-problems b-back home,” He shrugged and took a steadying breath. Knowing he could trust Belle with _some_ information about his home life caused him to hesitate before continuing. “M-momma m-made me t-tough it out.”

“Tough it out?” Belle repeated him. She hadn’t wanted it to come out as a question and hoped it wouldn’t scare the teen out of talking. It was the most he had said to her since setting foot in the castle.

“Y-Yeah,” He nodded then ran his hand through his hair. “D-Didn’t c-care unless I c-c-couldn’t clean. M-Made m-me sleep outside when it snows t-to toughen up my immune system.”

Belle’s face paled and her eyebrows rose a little. She maintained her composure besides that and forced herself to eat a spoonful of oatmeal to give her hands something to do.

“Sorry,” Carlos added and pressed his lips together to suppress a frown. “I-I said too much.”

“You needn’t apologize, Carlos,” Belle sighed. “I should be the one doing so since I wasn’t aware things were as bad as they are on the Isle.”

Carlos resumed pushing the eggs on his plate around. The right thing to do would have been to eat but he wasn’t all that hungry. He was still too used to days of no food being a normal thing and didn’t fully trust that they were in Auradon to stay.

“B-Ben’s t-taking t-too long,” He stammered after a few seconds passed. “M-May I g-go?”

Carlos pushed his chair back but didn’t get up. He was waiting for confirmation from Belle.

“Go ahead,” Belle spoke softly. She was slightly overwhelmed from the conversation with Carlos since she hadn’t expected a productive breakfast chat with him.

He went to stand and promptly shrunk back down since he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. He sat up straight and looked toward the doorway, looking over Ben when he arrived.

“You may want to phone the doctor,” Ben looked at his mother. “Coughing and complaining about chills. Evie couldn’t hold her head up.”

“N-n-not them t-too,” Carlos cried out then cradled his head in his hands. He hadn’t thought anything would come out of Mal’s saying she didn’t want breakfast.

“Carlos mentioned Jay having something similar going on,” Belle murmured. “I’ll phone Doc to make sure it isn’t anything serious.” She looked Carlos over to make sure he didn’t seem ill and left the room once she decided he was okay enough to be left with Ben.

“How come you look fine?” Ben asked Carlos. The younger teen glanced up at him through his fingers and shrugged his shoulders.

“‘Cause m-momma d-doesn’t c-c-care if I g-get sick,” He shuddered at the thought. “M-M-Makes me d-do everything anyway. Their p-parents l-let them r-rest and tr-tried m-medicine from the w-witch d-d-d-doctors. I-I’m pr-probably immune.”

“Did they do immunizations on the Isle?” Ben asked. His expression faltering was the only thing that gave away how he felt about what Carlos said. He didn’t want to press for more information since it was the most talking Carlos had done since the coronation.

“N-No hospital,” Carlos scoffed and shook his head, looking at Ben as though he had an extra head. “Remember?”

“Right,” Ben grimaced. “Anything else I should know before Doc gets here?” He grew more concerned than before since Carlos shrugged his shoulders and didn’t look at him.

“Carlos,” He murmured when he didn’t get an answer after two minutes. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“No,” Carlos whimpered and kept his hands over his face, his voice muffled by his fingers. “J-Just that c-c-coughs can b-be lethal. D-D-Danny and L-Lexi d-died last winter. We almost l-lost Gil during Spring.”

“For goodness sake,” Ben exhaled. Carlos lowered his hands and gave him a wary look. The younger teen went to apologize and was cut off by Ben before he got as far as getting the first syllable out.

“I need to know,” The king grimaced. “So don’t apologize. It’s more important I know what needs to be changed than it is to try to pretend my father didn’t leave half of our citizens with no resources.”

“We aren’t your—” Carlos trailed off since Belle and Doc entered the dining hall. He went quiet and shrunk into himself, cautiously eyeing Doc. He had learned to trust the man since he did something to improve the hearing in his right ear shortly before the school closed for break. It was incredibly worrying that Doc was with him, Belle, and Ben instead of his friends.

“Carlos?” Belle softly called the teen’s name. His gaze shifted from Doc to her and his eyes widened. “Do you mind if we check on you too?”

“N-N-No,” Carlos stammered and shook his head. He further curled into himself and squeezed his eyes shut. “I-I-I’m f-fine. Pr-Promise. N-No… Nothing unusual.”

Belle pressed her lips together to suppress a frown. She took a steadying breath before speaking again.

“I don’t doubt you,” She murmured. “But with three out of four of you sick, I want to make sure you aren’t showing any early symptoms of anything.”

“I can give a lollipop at the end,” Doc offered with a nervous laugh. The only sign of attention from Carlos was his shifting so he could look at the two adults. His eyes darted between the two for several seconds. He set his gaze on Doc and took a deep breath, moving so he was sitting up straight.

“What d-do you n-need to do?” He whispered. “I f-feel fine. N-no sniffles or anything. M-My throat hurts a little but the c-castle is really w-warm so that’s… I think that’s t-to blame.”

“The usual of checking to make sure your ears, nose, and throat are okay,” Doc murmured then gestured at the bag he was carrying. “Along with checking your temperature and listening to your breathing.”

Carlos nodded and kept quiet, pushing his chair back from the table. He didn’t stand up and looked up expectantly at Doc.

“Are you comfortable with me checking things over in here?” Doc asked. “Or would you prefer a different spot?”

“Y-Y-You’ll have t-to check J-Jay t-t-too?” He whispered. Doc gave a nod in reply. “Th-Then here w-works so I know what will happen with the others.”

“Okay,” Doc answered. He took his stethoscope off from around his neck and stuck it in his ears, head tilting before he spoke. “Can I have you take three deep breaths?”

Carlos nodded then sat up straight, holding his breath until the doctor pressed the stethoscope over his shirt. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. The process repeated until Doc listened through his chest and back.

“Sounds good,” Doc murmured after jotting a note down in the small notebook he carried. “Ears, nose, and throat next.”

Carlos gave one nod then glanced at Doc. Oddly enough, the general checkup that was being performed had become routine after several appointments with Doc and a hearing specialist. He stiffened when Doc went to check his ears and slowly released a breath.

“A little bit of fluid behind the left,” Doc announced. “Right appears to be healing just fine. How long have you been off the antibiotic for it?”

“Two weeks, sir,” Carlos whispered. “Ear started b-bugging me a week after I finished.” Doc and Belle exchanged a glance with each other and didn’t say anything. Carlos bit his lower lip to keep from talking.

“We need to be careful about that,” Doc added after a moment of silence. “With the work done on the right, anything off in either ear is something the audiologist will want to know about.”

“It’s just itchy,” Carlos scoffed. His features flushed and he glanced down at his lap since he hadn’t wanted the words to come out with as much sass as they had. “N-N-Not bothersome to me.”

“Can I check your nose next?” Doc decided against trying to convince Carlos to be more concerned about himself.

“Yessir,” Carlos whispered. He slowly looked up and took a steadying breath, eyes widening when Doc checked how his nose looked.

“How is your breathing?” Doc asked. He raised an eyebrow since the teenager shrugged and didn’t say anything. “I noticed some mucus.”

“Stuffy at n-night,” He muttered since Ben gave him a similar look for not answering immediately. “Have t-to breathe through m-my mouth and c-cough it up in the morning. Jay and M-Mal are the ones that snore.”

“How has your throat been?” Doc reached into his bag to find the piece he needed for checking Carlos’s mouth.

“Fine,” Carlos shrugged. “Stuff drops d-down my mouth though. From m-my n-nose.”

“Can I check it?” Doc asked. The teen opened his mouth instead of answering, making a face once Doc was done looking.

“Likely a cold,” The doctor announced after writing in his notebook. “Doesn’t look like anything serious for you, Carlos. If anything gets worse please tell Belle.”

Carlos wrinkled his nose, not liking the idea of needing to trust an adult with his wellbeing. It wasn’t anything that hadn’t happened to him before and would likely pass.

“Okay,” He muttered after a moment of silence. Ben and Belle looked relieved since he didn’t try arguing. “Wh-What about m-my friends?”

“I’ll begin with Jay,” Doc announced. “Then I’ll look at Mal and Evie. I have a theory they may have caught the same thing.”

Carlos nodded and pressed his lips together, standing up since he wasn’t about to have Jay get poked and prodded by the doctor by himself. He followed Doc out of the room and stayed near Jay when it was his turn to be examined.

Ben and Belle paced the length of the hallway outside the rooms Jay, Mal, and Evie were in while Doc looked them over. Carlos was the first to come out of the room he and Jay shared. He nearly walked into Ben and jumped back, shaking since he hadn’t expected him to be as close to him as he was.

“M-M-Mal and Evie are n-next,” He whispered. “S-Said something about pneu… pneu… pneumonia and antibiotics.”

“That’s manageable,” Ben murmured. Carlos’s stressed expression remained though. Doc came out of the door a moment later.

“Belle,” He sighed. “He’s going to need a humidifier and medication for pneumonia. That’ll be two humidifiers if the girls have the same thing. Do you have another room for Carlos to stay in until the three receive two days’ worth of antibiotics?”

Carlos looked down at his feet but didn’t complain, thankful to have spoken to Doc about it before the diagnosis was shared with Belle and Ben.

“Excuse me,” Doc murmured and stepped around Ben and Belle. He could be heard re-introducing himself to Mal and Evie from the room, having kept the door open to show he wasn’t a threat.

“I can get that setup, Carlos,” Belle nodded. “Will do so once we’re certain it isn’t anything serious for Mal and Evie.”

“N-N-No rush,” Carlos mumbled and shifted awkwardly on his feet. “I c-could take a couch and b-be f-fine.”

“I’m not going to make you sleep on a couch,” Belle murmured. “We’ve got plenty of guest rooms.”

“I d-d-do—” Carlos trailed off and shook his head, needing a steadying breath before he could say anything else. “I don’t l-like being b-by myself.”

“You could share a room with me for the two nights,” Ben offered with a shrug. “I don’t mind.”

“N-N-No,” The younger teen shook his head. “You n-n-need your sleep. I-I-I’d interrupt. N-Nightmares. Plus, I have Dude.”

“Nightmares?” Ben tilted his head to the side. He didn’t need to ask for any other information since he had a feeling that his mother was likely to blame.

“Sometimes,” Carlos winced. “M-Momma’s b-been doing enough d-d-damage not being here.”

“Look on the bright side,” Ben decided to switch the subject. “They’ll be off the antibiotics the night before Christmas.”

“That d-doesn’t m-mean…” Carlos trailed off since the murmured conversations went on long enough for Doc to return from the girls’ room. “Are they okay?”

“Pneumonia symptoms,” Doc answered and looked at Belle. “48 hours of antibiotics and making sure they keep hydrated. If things aren’t cleared up after Christmas, we’ll need a clinic visit.”

“What about vaccines?” Carlos asked before Belle got the chance to say anything. “W-We d-don’t have them b-back home.”

“I can’t force you to get them,” Doc shook his head. “But will happily get more information on them for you if you are interested.”

“I’m working on fixing that for the Isle,” Ben added and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s going to be tough since we can’t force everyone to get them. I can’t make them a requirement for coming over here since the crown didn’t provide them in the first place.”

“I w-want them,” Carlos murmured. “If it m-m-means not ending up l-like them.” He tilted his head toward Mal and Evie’s room.

“I will make note of that,” Doc jotted down a note about what Carlos said. “We will have to look into it after the New Year.”

Carlos nodded then looked at Ben and Belle. He scratched the back of his neck and went quiet, not sure of what else could be said.

Medications arrived in the afternoon and Belle struggled with finding a way to care for Mal, Evie, and Jay without seeming overbearing. The teens didn’t seem overly worried about being sick but that didn’t stop her from feeling guilty since they were in her care until school started up again.

The 48 hours of needing to keep Jay, Evie, and Mal isolated went by smoothly. Carlos didn’t sleep the second night but didn’t say anything to Belle or Ben since he didn’t want them worrying about him as well. The only major change in the other three’s symptoms was their feeling well enough to try eating something during Christmas Eve dinner.

They specifically requested that Carlos wasn’t told they were well enough for dinner so their presence came as a surprise.

“What’s significant about this anyway?” Jay rasped when he, Evie, and Mal arrived in the dining room. The space had transformed during their absence. There were unfamiliar looking decorations and they had passed an overly decorated tree on their way in.

“No clue,” Mal shook her head. The Isle didn’t celebrate anything. She and Evie had birthday parties but that was purely because their mothers cared about them enough to celebrate. Most of the children back home weren’t able to give a positive answer when asked how old they were or when their birthday was.

“It’s beautiful though,” Evie added in a whisper. Her throat was too sore for talking but she had to make sure someone acknowledged it.

Ben and Carlos arrived shortly after the trio settled into their seats. Carlos kept his head down and hadn’t noticed their presence until he discovered someone sitting in the chair he had claimed when the others were too sick to eat.

“You’re back,” Carlos gasped out, beaming widely at Evie and Jay. He turned to face Mal and looked her over. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Well enough to eat something that isn’t liquified,” Mal shrugged. “The inhaler has been the best thing to come out of this.”

“I missed you,” He murmured then claimed the seat that was across from Jay, teeth digging into his lower lip before he chanced looking up at him. “All of you.”

“I’ll admit it was odd not having you check on me every single time I coughed,” Jay chuckled. Carlos’s happy expression faltered when he caught how Jay’s voice sounded. “Was sort of used to it.”

“Haha,” Carlos rolled his eyes. “T-Turns out my nagging was right.” He looked down at his lap when he finished speaking and ran his hand through his hair.

“Seriously though, Ben,” Jay asked and gestured at the multiple spoons and forks that were in front of him. “What’s with the decorations?” 

“It’s Christmas,” Ben shrugged. “An excuse for decorating and giving gifts to each other. Mom and I usually go to church at midnight but we agreed on staying in to introduce the non-religious parts of the holiday to you.”

“We didn’t get anyone anything,” Mal added with a nervous laugh. “I don’t remember you saying we needed to.”

“I didn’t,” Ben shook his head. “And I wouldn’t expect you to anyway. This is a little something to introduce some of the holidays Auradon celebrates. Christmas is one my family does. Aziz’s parents recognize the solstices and Lonnie can tell you all about the Lunar New Year.”

Mal made a face then looked to Evie since she had a better way with words. The blue-haired-teen shrugged and kept quiet.

“We don’t have anything we can share from the aisle,” She mumbled. Jay chuckled from beside her.

“That’s probably for the best,” He muttered. “Unless they wanted us introducing sports or something.”

Belle entered the dining room and was accompanied by a few members of the castle’s staff. Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and several people the teens didn’t recognize were present. They brought food in and were chatting happily.

“We gave everyone time off to be with family,” Ben said when he spotted the concerned looks from his classmates. “But they’re part of mum’s found family so it wouldn’t be Christmas Eve dinner without them.”

“Found family?” Evie asked. She was grateful Ben appeared to hear her over the chatter that accompanied his mother’s arrival.

“Yeah,” Ben shrugged. “It was just mum and my granddad when she was young. The people here have been by mom’s side since she first met dad. Friends turned family since they care about each other.”

“Sort of like us,” Carlos whispered to himself. Jay appeared to have caught what he said by reading his lips and gave a nod.

“I’m sort of hoping you’ll prove to do something similar,” Ben added and ran his hand through his hair. “Again not an expectation but I would hope our friendship strengthens and lasts through the end of the school year.”

None of the Isle teens said anything. Food proved to be a welcomed distraction even though they didn’t eat a lot. No one questioned it though or called them out for not eating enough. None of the adults were staring at them and a few of them flashed smiles from across the table.

The meal ended with Ben and Belle hugging their guests and wishing them a happy Christmas. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos watched with slight interest since Ben and Belle exchanged small gifts with the guests as they said goodbye.

“How are you feeling?” Belle asked once the table was cleared. “Should I get more tea?”

“I’m fine,” Evie shook her head. “Thank you though. Feeling a little better now that I’m able to eat.”

“No tea please,” Mal offered a small smile then laughed. “I’m afraid I’ll explode if I take in any more liquids.”

“I’ll take a little,” Jay murmured. “If that isn’t too much to request. The first cup helped clear up some of the stuff in my throat.”

Belle and Ben’s kindness felt too good to be true over the past couple of days. Jafar had never been as hands-on in making sure he got over whatever made him sick.

“Not at all, dear,” Belle smiled. “You’re our guests so it’s no trouble. I want you to be comfortable and healthy. We’ll do whatever is necessary as long as your requests are reasonable.”

Jay nodded and kept quiet after that, looking at Carlos from across the table since he was the only one that didn’t say anything.

“I’ll t-take a cuppa,” Carlos nodded. “I c-c-can make it if you want.” Belle and Ben didn’t expect him to do anything to earn his staying with them. The concept of not needing to clean or make anything to keep the roof over his head was mind-boggling to him.

“I got it,” Ben shook his head and went into the kitchen. He returned with the tea kettle and a coaster, pouring a cup of tea for Jay and Carlos before he set the kettle down. “Figured we’ll keep this here in case anyone else wants it.”

“The meal was lovely,” Mal glanced at Belle. “Thank you for having us for the holidays.”

“It’s truly my pleasure,” Belle beamed. “I’m happy to have been able to extend the invite and get to know you and your friends a little better.”

“We had planned on doing so before all the stuff with dad came about,” Ben added. The reassurance that it wasn’t because they felt guilty wasn’t exactly necessary but he felt the need to say it anyway. 

“I’d wanted to offer the holidays with us or our safely finding a way for you to visit your parents back before…” He paused to find the right words. “Before we had a full idea of what the Isle consists of.”

“How kind of you,” Mal muttered. There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone but it wasn’t nasty enough for Ben to read into it.

“We do appreciate it,” Evie added in a whisper. There were times where the moments of kindness felt too good to be true but she was slowly getting used to not expecting something bad to happen around every corner.

“What comes next?” Jay asked. The question earned a soft laugh from Belle and Ben.

“Baking cookies,” Ben chuckled. “We used to make them for Santa but I outgrew believing he delivers gifts at age nine. Now we do it to enjoy and spend time together.”

The four teens from the Isle exchanged an uneasy look, not understanding the concept of wanting to spend time with a parent. The very idea would have been laughable if Ben and Belle didn’t seem happy about the idea of introducing the tradition to them.

“We’ve got gingerbread for this year,” Belle smiled. “And frosting so you can decorate them however you want. Babette and Lumiere were in charge of making the gingerbread house for this year.”

“Cool?” Mal made a face at Ben. “Is that like… supposed to mean something to us or?”

“You didn’t get gingerbread over the holidays?” Ben’s expression faltered to a frown, the look depending when all four of them nodded.

“M-M-Momma n-never g-gave me anything,” Carlos shook his head. “M-Made a huge d-deal when I asked for b-basic necessities.”

“Baking wasn’t something easily done,” Mal scoffed. “Minimal electricity and Ursula being the one with the shop that provided decent food.” Jay grimaced when Ursula got brought up.

“She was always picky about the company allowed in there,” He shuddered. “Didn’t think I was worthy of being in her establishment until Uma tried to rope me into joining her crew.”

Ben opened then slowly closed his mouth, uncertain about what to say. His mother cleared her throat and looked each teen over, gaze finally settling on her son’s before she went to speak.

“Shall we go to the kitchen then?” She asked with a slightly forced smile. Ben nodded and stood up. Jay, Evie, and Carlos didn’t stand up until Mal took the lead.

“Yes ma’am,” Jay flashed a grin at her once Mal stepped forward. “We aren’t the best at cooking though.”

“That’s perfectly okay,” Belle chuckled. “We have a simple set of instructions and the dough is already pre-made. All we have to do is roll it out, cut it, and toss it in the oven. I’ll have hot cocoa at the ready once they are baking.”

Jay nodded then slowly followed after the rest of his friends to the kitchen. He fell into step with Carlos and gently elbowed him.

“Do y’think they’re always this nice?” He asked in a whisper. Carlos shrugged his shoulders. “Or is this a show of some sort?”

“C-Can’t tell,” Carlos murmured and shook his head. “I think Belle is b-being genuine though.”

“I think Carlos is right,” Evie added and poked her tongue out at Jay. Having been on Carlos’s right made it so she could hear the conversation. “It is odd though. Mother was never that cautious about making sure I feel better.”

“Are you three deliberately dragging your feet or did I miss something?” Mal stopped in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at her friends.

“C-Catching up with J-Jay,” Carlos answered before the other two got a chance to say anything. His ears went bright red and he forced a smile. “D-Didn’t mean t-to hold th-things up.”

“Whatever,” Mal grumbled then led the way into the kitchen. She wrinkled her nose since Ben and Belle had holiday-themed aprons on.

“Don’t worry,” Ben chuckled when he caught her expression. “Mom bought one for each of you.”

“What?” Mal asked, hoping she had heard him wrong. “You have to be joking.” Her statement was quickly proven wrong since Belle stepped in with a bag of dough in one hand and four aprons draped over her other arm.

“You’ll want these,” She smiled and offered the aprons to Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos. “The flour can make things a little messy.”

Evie and Carlos were the first ones to take the aprons, thinking little of the action since it seemed harmless.

“Come on,” Evie rasped at Mal and threw one of the aprons at her. “You need to match us. There isn’t much of a choice on the matter since you and Jay are now the odd ones out.”

Mal pressed her tongue against her cheek to keep from swearing and narrowed her eyes at Evie. She stuck the apron on and glanced down at it.

“I look like I got attacked by a tablecloth,” She muttered. Jay chuckled and put his apron on, smirking when he met her gaze.

“You look cute,” He laughed. “At least it’s these and not matching pajamas for everyone.”

“Okay but we could pull that off,” Evie added with a laugh. “If we all got flannel and—” She trailed off since Belle and Ben were back with rolling pins and a bag of flour.

“We’ve got a ball of dough for everyone,” Ben grinned. “You’re going to want to sprinkle flour on the table then roll it. The flour should keep it from sticking.”

The four nodded then found a spot at the table. Jay and Carlos were next to each other. It took under two minutes for things to go from calm to chaotic since the two started throwing flour at each other.

“You didn’t just—” The rest of Mal’s threat hung in the air since Evie gave her a look that said to leave it at that. Her face was coated with flour and Carlos let out a loud gasp then ducked down by the table. The blond tips of his hair were the only visible part of him. He held his breath and shifted to reveal his eyes when she didn’t immediately snap at him.

“Sorry,” He tilted his head up so he could flash her a smile. Mal narrowed her eyes at him and didn’t say anything else. Carlos gave it another couple of minutes then got back to his feet, working on cutting a few pieces of dough.

“Got ya,” Mal cackled after she sent a ball of flour hurtling at Carlos. It hit him right in the chest and left flour all over his apron. “We’ll call it even.”

“Fair enough,” Carlos laughed then shook his head. “It was an accident though.” He narrowed his eyes at Jay since his ducking out of the way could be blamed for throwing his aim off.

Belle followed through on the promise of hot chocolate once the cookies were put in the oven. She even read a short book about the holidays while they waited. The most interesting part of the evening for her was the amount of attention the teens paid to it.

“You read that every year?” Jay broke the silence that settled over him and his friends once she finished.

“Every year,” Belle nodded. “Then we usually end the night with a cup of milk and a cookie.”

“Pop never read to me,” He chuckled. “I think he didn’t want me to know how to… With how shocked he was when school taught me how to tell time. Always said it made me mouth off more.”

“Ma n-never d-did anything n-nice with me,” Carlos shivered. “Is this r-really how Christmas goes or is it j-just for show?”

“We’ve done this every year since Ben was born,” Belle murmured. “We sometimes spent time with Cinderella’s family as well.”

“Interesting,” Jay murmured. The rest of the evening was mostly quiet since the teens spent nearly an hour decorating cookies. None of them knew what the morning would bring but they were able to go to bed happy and looking forward to Christmas Day.


	4. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos celebrate Christmas with Ben, Belle, and Maurice. The morning gets interrupted by Cinderella needing to deliver an urgent message.

Christmas morning arrived with several surprises. The first came in the form of Ben waking everyone up by nine. Each teen was greeted with new pajamas at the end of their bed.

"I was joking when I mentioned matching pajamas," Jay chuckled and held up his black and gold set of pajamas. "But I can dig the black material with the colored dots. It's surprisingly soft."

"Do you think the girls got something similar?" Carlos asked and slipped on his pajama shirt, looking impressed since the material was incredibly soft to the touch.

"They must have since Ben had blue and gold dots on his," Jay shrugged. He and Carlos stood in the hallway outside Mal and Evie's room once dressed. Carlos kept his phone in the pocket of his pajama bottoms since he wanted to snag a few photos.

"I was right in saying we can pull the matching outfits off," Evie giggled when she and Mal stepped out of their room. "They got my favorite color perfectly."

"They're soft, aren't they?" Jay tilted his head to the side at Mal. She wrinkled her nose and tried to seem disinterested in the pajamas.

"Yeah," She muttered. "They couldn't send some of this stuff our way though? It would've stopped Dizzy from looking like a miniature of Lady Tremaine."

"I know," Jay exhaled. "It's a lot different than back home. No — Majorly different from back home."

"It isn't fair," Carlos murmured. "What do they do when they outgrow everything? N-None of it ended up on the Isle."

"I don't know," Mal glanced at Evie. "I can ask and find out but I…" She paused to take a steadying breath since her voice was shaking. "I don't think we'll like the answer."

"Agreed," Jay answered. Carlos nodded his head. "With Beast seeming as uncaring about everything, I'd doubt he had any sort of system in place to reuse the clothes."

"They probably burn them," Evie allowed a scowl to briefly grace her lips. The look was an unfamiliar expression of hers since she seldom frowned. "Cheap way to get rid of them and ensure it can't go to the Isle."

"I hope not," Jay grimaced. "The Isle gets an absurd amount of trash but… That feels like something Belle wouldn't have…" He trailed off and ran both his hands through his hair. "She wasn't involved at all with us, was she?"

"Not by the look of things," Mal frowned. Evie and Carlos shook their heads, both looking rather saddened at the thought.

"Shall we get breakfast then?" Evie asked. There was no sense of excitement behind her words but the topic change had felt necessary.

"I suppose so," Mal grumbled. She took off walking and plastered a forced smile over her lips. The look was short-lived since the dining hall and sitting room had transformed again.

The tree was lit with white lights that twinkled in the dimly lit room. A cinnamon scent filled the air and there were several brightly colored presents under the tree and two large boxes beside it.

"Those have your name on them, E," Mal whispered and took a step away from the tree, surprised to find three gifts labeled with her name on them.

No one moved to touch anything, gaping at the array of gifts. Each teen had three gifts near the tree. There were two with Ben's name on them and one for Belle.

"Should we have gotten them something?" Jay looked incredibly concerned since the number of gifts was overwhelming. Belle's housing them for the winter break was a gift in itself. None of them expected anything else.

"Maybe?" Carlos frowned and peered over Evie's shoulder. His eyes widened when he spotted the boxes with his name on them. "I c-c-can't take those."

"They're yours," Ben's voice made Carlos and Evie jump. "No givebacks allowed— My mother's orders, not mine."

Mal rapidly spun on her heel, the smile easily spreading across her lips since she was relieved to see Ben. Jay, Carlos, and Evie stood a few steps behind her.

"We don't have anything for you," She dug her teeth into her lower up. Gifts weren't something that happened on the Isle of the Lost. Everything had a cost and the adults were cruel if debts weren't paid promptly.

"Like I said," Ben shook his head. "You don't owe us anything. They're just a few things to get you through the rest of the school year — nothing more. I know you didn't get a lot on the Isle."

He almost chuckled since the four teens fixed him with a calculated glare. Jay and Mal narrowed their eyes at him, the two searching for any reason to not trust what he said.

"We didn't have much but we got by," Jay scoffed. "Did this feeling of kindness extend to the Isle or..?"

"Jay," Mal hissed out. She glared at him from over her shoulder, the look softening since Ben started talking again.

"It's okay," Ben murmured then took a step toward Mal, gently brushing his fingers against the back of her hand. "I was expecting to get that question." He paused since Mal slipped her hand into his and gently squeezed his fingers.

"Mal and I worked on a list of practical gifts to send to the Isle," He glanced down at Mal and smiled. "Pillows, sleeping bags, stuffed animals, books, and other items are among a shipment planned to arrive with the representatives that will bring my father back. I've decided to add insult to injury and am making him aid with distributing them."

"Diabolical," Jay chuckled then shook his head. "I suppose things are good between us for that."

"Heads up though," Ben cringed and held his hands up since he was playing the role of messenger. "Mother is going to want a picture of all of us in front of the tree. She wasn't sure about how the pajamas would go over."

"How are they so soft?" Evie asked. She raised her arm to show him the shimmery material. "We definitely don't have clothes made out of this back on the Isle."

"They are made of silk," Ben shrugged. "Perhaps I'm biased, but I find it rather comfortable." Evie squealed excitedly and spun around in a circle.

"Seriously?" She gasped out, giggling loudly when Ben nodded. "I thought that was something out of a fairytale."

"Seriously," He grinned then gave another nod. "I figure you would appreciate them."

"I do," Evie beamed. "I totally do. Thank you for them. They're the coziest set of clothes I've ever had."

"I'm happy to hear that," Ben smiled. The expression grew when he spotted his mother and grandfather. "Mom, gramps!"

"Oh my goodness," Belle gasped when she arrived in the sitting room. "You're wearing the pajamas."

"Of course," Evie laughed. "They're beautiful. Thank you for them. I am sorry we don't have anything for you and Ben though."

"You needn't worry about that," Belle shook her head. "They were a gift from my father." She paused to step aside so the teens could get a glimpse of her dad. "This is Ben's grandfather."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Evie dipped down into a curtsy. Mal did the same from beside her. "I'm Evie. This is Mal, Jay, and Carlos." She pointed to each of her friends then stood back up.

"There's no need to call me sir," The man chuckled. "You may call me Maurice. Now, which of you was Carlos?"

Carlos looked up at the stranger, chewing his lower lip before he found the courage to answer. "I-I am."

"Ben tells me you have a knack for inventing," He offered a small smile, sensing the teen's unease. "Has he told you about any of the work I've done?"

"N-N-No sir," Carlos shook his head. "I'm a-afraid he hasn't." Maurice gave another chuckle upon hearing that. Carlos gave him a look of concern and didn't say anything else.

"Not to worry, Carlos," Maurice murmured. "I figured you may have an interest in some of them. I brought blueprints so we can look over those at breakfast."

"N-No way," The teen looked him in the eyes. Carlos looked over to Ben for a brief moment then back at Maurice. "What have you made?"

"Lock picks, a woodcutter, and my own headgear to name a few," Maurice grinned. "The village used to think I wouldn't be able to get anything to work"

"I'm familiar w-with that," Carlos whispered. "G-Gaston had a lot t-t-to say about you and B-Beast when he drank."

"Alright," Belle spoke softly, grinning at each teenager that was in her care. "I would like to get a picture of you all if you're feeling up to it."

Jay and Mal exchanged a look then shrugged their shoulders. Evie nodded and stood beside Mal. Ben stood on Mal's other side. Carlos reached into the pockets of his pajama bottoms to find his phone.

"C-C-Can you g-get one on m-my phone?" He asked and offered his phone to Belle, shrinking back behind Jay when she took it.

"Of course, Carlos," Belle nodded. "I'll need you to step out where we can see you though."

"R-Right," Carlos nodded then stood in front of Jay, glancing up at him from over his shoulder.

"Ready?" Belle asked and held up an instant camera, taking a moment to make sure everyone could be seen. The tree was visible behind the group of teens. "One, two, three!"

The shutter clicked and the photo slowly came out of the camera. Carlos's mouth hung open the whole time the film came out.

"Wow," He whispered. Belle set the camera down then held up Carlos's phone. Carlos closed his mouth and leaned into Jay, not needing to force a smile for the next photo.

"Okay, one more," Belle announced then offered Carlos his cellphone back. He took it and hesitated when he went to go back to his friends.

"The c-camera pr-printed the photo?" He asked, looking at the end table that Belle set the camera down on. The photo was in color and had the smiling faces of him and his friends on it.

"Yes," Belle answered and took the photo out from the camera. "We have a few instant cameras in the kingdom — no magic needed."

"Are there… Are there any old ones?" Carlos wrinkled his nose, uncertain how the rest of his question would be handled. "I w-want to take one apart and p-put it back together."

"I may need to ask around, but I should be able to locate one for you," She nodded then turned to the other teens. "We have breakfast ready then we can dive into gifts. Unless you would prefer reversing those."

"Breakfast is fine," Mal answered before her friends said anything. "We'll do that first please."

The meal passed with little interruption. Mal, Ben, Evie, and Jay talked among themselves while Carlos listened to what Maurice and Belle had to say about his inventions.

Food was delicious as usual and the teens were happy to have mugs of hot chocolate with their food. They finished and Belle sent everyone to the sitting room. She and her father cleaned up the table and dishes then joined them.

"Alright, how does this work?" Jay asked when Belle came in. The gifts were split up so each recipient had the ones with their names on them in front of them.

"You can open them," Belle smiled. "If we didn't get something that is to your liking, let me know and I'll replace it."

"You d-d-didn't n-need t-to…" Carlos cut off mid-sentence since Ben and Belle shook their heads.

"We wanted to," Ben announced. "You're more than deserving of them. I assure you I don't need or want anything in return."

"Oh… Kay," Carlos mumbled. He stood beside Jay and looked up at him, giving a worried look when their eyes met.

"He said no strings attached," Jay whispered then pulled Carlos in for a hug. "And he's been pretty good about matching things up with our personalities."

Carlos hugged him back and pressed his head against Jay's chest, taking a steadying breath before he pulled away and approached the three gifts that had his name on them.

Evie and Mal were the first to open their gifts. Mal was shocked to receive an art easel, a box of canvases, and brand new paint and brushes.

"Figured it would keep you from tagging your friends' lockers," Ben chuckled. "Not that anyone has complained about the work on your locker."

"It's beautiful," Mal whispered. "You took the fun out of art but I… I can use this." She smiled then took a step closer to him and pulled him in for a hug.

"Thank you," She murmured in his ear then rested her head against his shoulder a moment, taking a step backward once she was ready to let him go.

"You didn't," Evie shrieked excitedly when she opened the large box that had her name on it. Tears formed along the corners of her eyes and she let them fall, jaw clenching to keep a happy sob from exiting through her lips.

"Babette and Lumiere helped," Ben murmured. "She decided you're ready for a machine of your own."

Evie nodded and kept quiet, unable to trust herself with speaking since she knew the overwhelming feeling of happiness would reduce her to a sobbing mess.

The second large box contained a dress form and the smallest one that had her name on it contained more sewing supplies than she knew what to do with.

"Thank you," She hiccoughed once she had control over her emotions. "I- I don't know what else to say."

"Your smile said more than enough, Evie," Belle grinned at her. "Babette will be happy to hear about your reaction."

Carlos stuck to Jay's side when the time for them to open their gifts came around. Not being used to kindness had Carlos keeping his distance from the gifts.

No one had moved to take the girls' gifts away so he plucked up the courage to open the smallest box with his name on it. He cautiously undid the wrapping paper and neatly set it aside, giving a soft laugh when he spotted the dog pajama set. The polka dots were identical to the ones on the set he was wearing.

"Sh-Should've guessed D-Dude got one too," He chuckled, overly relieved that the gift wasn't actually for him. "Th-Thank you."

"You've still got two more," Belle gave him an encouraging smile. Carlos's expression faltered to something anxious-looking and he opened the second smallest box.

"3D pr-print m-materials?" He tilted his head to the side and read the back of the package. It was incredibly fascinating but he had yet to see something that required the mix of tools and materials that were included in the kit.

"Now before you get to your last gift," Ben murmured. Carlos cast him a sideways glance. The box was nearly as big as he was.

"It's something that can be used by all four of you. I figured you'd appreciate getting to set it up and learn the ropes of it," He continued. "Maybe add a few tweaks of your own to it."

Carlos narrowed his eyes at Ben then took a deep breath and tore the wrapping paper off the box, stumbling back once it was open.

"N-N-No w-w-way," He gasped out then quickly masked his excitement. His jaw and shoulders shook from trying to keep the emotion hidden.

"Looks like I'm the last one," Jay chuckled then tore open the first box. He was surprised to find seven different colored beanies and a few pairs of fingerless gloves. The next thing he opened was an envelope with a gift certificate to one of the sports stores in downtown Auradon.

"Gift certificate?" Jay wrinkled his nose. "You're going to need to explain this one to me, Ben."

"You bring it to the store and they'll let you know what you can get with it," Ben murmured. "Should be enough for a few outfits, but you can get balls or training supplies if you don't want to use it toward clothes."

"Huh," Jay looked at the certificate again. "So it means I can get stuff without paying for it."

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "Since—" He didn't finish the rest of his thought since Mal elbowed him.

"Wicked," Jay grinned. It was almost like stealing but he couldn't get in trouble for it. "I appreciate the thought you've put into this, Ben."

His last gift was an instant camera that was similar to the one Belle used that morning, several film packs for it, and an album to store the photos in.

"I figured you'd want a few memories of your time out here," Ben murmured. "So we went with the camera. Another thing that can be used by all four of you if you're willing to share."

"Thank you," Jay responded. Ben had somehow managed to get perfect gifts for him and he was curious about how he'd done so without consulting Carlos on the matter.

"Ben, this one is from me," Belle murmured and offered a small envelope to her son. "I know you said no gifts but I wanted you to know how proud I am of you."

Ben took the envelope from his mother and opened it. She wrote him a letter expressing how proud of him she was and had a pressed rose in with it.

"It's—" He didn't get the chance to finish his thought since his mother stepped out of the room while he was reading her note.

"Something about needing to take a call?" Mal murmured when Ben looked at her. "She said she would be quick."

Ben cast an anxious glance at his grandfather then nodded to show he had heard Mal. Christmas was meant to be family time and if it was a phone call to his mother, the message had to be urgent.

He pulled his phone out to check that he hadn't missed any calls or texts. The only notification he had belonged to a group message between him, Doug, Chad, Lonnie, Audrey, and Jane. It was likely one of them saying happy Christmas to the group so he didn't pay any attention to it and pocketed his phone.

"Slight change of plans for today," Belle announced when she returned to the sitting room. "The Charming family will be dropping by in a little bit — Cinderella and Chad that is."

"She's earlier than we usually expect," Ben murmured. "Any reason for that?"

"She didn't say," She shook her head. "They've had breakfast though so that isn't something we need to worry about."

"Okay," Ben's eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "Should I grab the spare set of pajamas for Chad?"

"Wouldn't hurt," Belle shrugged. "Unless everyone plans on changing before they arrive."

"C-C-Can I stick t-to the pajamas?" Carlos stammered and looked down at his feet. "They're c-c-comfy."

"I'm planning on keeping mine on," Evie added with a small smile. "So you won't be the only one in them."

"Ugh," Mal pretended to look annoyed. "Guess that means I'll be doing the same." It didn't take much convincing as it was since the clothes were incredibly comfortable when compared to what she usually wore.

"I'll keep mine on," Jay shrugged. "Maybe it'll pressure Chad into matching us." The two didn't get along so Jay was happy to have an excuse to mess with him that didn't involve doing any damage to him.

"So that's a yes on getting those then," Ben chuckled and stepped out of the room.

He returned a few minutes later with an annoyed looking Chad in tow. Belle looked confused upon spotting him since Cinderella had said she'd text when they arrived.

"Chad," The look melted into a smile. "It's good to see you. Ben has your gift set aside since we weren't sure about when we were expecting you."

"Good to see you as well," Chad forced a smile then accepted the hug Belle offered him. "Mum said she's sorry about the short notice on everything."

"How is your father?" Belle asked since the head of the household hadn't accompanied the two.

"Something came up with grandfather," His eyebrows furrowed together at the thought. "That's not why she called you though." His mother had neglected to tell him what the reason behind needing to abruptly leave their castle was. She had seemed more stressed than usual so he hadn't thought to ask her about it.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Belle murmured. Her expression lit up since Cinderella arrived in the sitting room. "Cindy, a pleasure as always."

"Belle," Cinderella beamed then closed the distance between them and lightly kissed Belle's cheek. "We're going to need to speak in private." The last part was murmured in Belle's ear then she plastered a smile over her lips and turned toward Ben.

"Good to see you, Ben," She announced. "And Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. I've got a little something for each of you in here." Cinderella extended her arm to offer a bag to Ben.

Ben took the bag and offered a smile to her. "You didn't need to bring anything," He murmured. "But we appreciate it nonetheless."

"Figured it would make up for our showing up almost unannounced," Cinderella smiled. "It's the least we can do after how your coronation ended."

Chad scowled at his mother's words and kept quiet. His apology letters were part of what Cinderella put together and he wasn't about to make a scene.

"You six can dive into those," Cinderella laughed softly. "If you don't mind, I need to steal your mother away for a moment, Ben."

"Is there anything I should be aware of?" He asked, expression growing worried since it didn't seem like Cinderella to make a phone call and appear nearly five minutes later.

"No," She gave him a small smile when she shook her head. "Nothing to worry about. It's Christmas after all, love."

"Okay," The king narrowed his eyes at her, studying her closely to see if he should be worried. There was nothing though so he let his facial expression soften. "Hurry back. I haven't had the chance to give mom her present yet."

The two left the room and went down the hallway, not speaking until they arrived in the room that served as Belle's office. They closed the door behind them and gave each other a sideways glance.

"Nothing to worry about," Belle arched an eyebrow at Cinderella then sat down at the chair behind her desk. "I'm surprised he didn't see through your claiming that."

"He's your husband's son," Cinderella murmured and sat on the edge of Belle's desk, tongue pressing against her cheek before she continued. "Not particularly quick to catch onto things."

"I would take offense to that," Belle shook her head then playfully glared at the other woman. "But you have a point. What's the emergency?"

Cinderella chewed at her lower lip, carefully thinking over what she wanted to say. Her worried expression caused Belle to take her hand in hers. The brunette trailed her thumb along the back of the blonde's hand, tracing small circles in an attempt at getting her to seem less anxious.

"It has to be something serious if it's got you this quiet," Belle murmured and looked up at Cinderella. "I haven't seen you this worried since that time Chad got hospitalized."

The blonde needed another steadying breath before she could say anything. She shifted her hand so her fingers threaded through Belle's fingers.

"Has your husband been in contact with you?" She asked in a whisper. The question earned a puzzled look from Belle.

"No, not since he went to—" The attempt at lying came to a stop since Cinderella gave her a look that made it clear she knew something about the situation with Adam and the Isle.

"His guard reached out to me," Cinderella's expression faltered to a frown. She needed a few breaths before she could continue. "The one that is on the Isle with him."

"Reached out to you," Belle eyed the blue nail polish on Cinderella's nails then looked up at her. "From the Isle."

"From the Isle," Cinderella repeated. "I would have appreciated knowing he had the chance to see Anastasia but that is not what I am here to talk about. Not exactly anyway?"

She made a face when the last part turned into a question. Too much had happened for her to understand what was going on. Her main thoughts circulated around why Adam felt the need to go through her instead of his wife or his son.

"What did he want?" Belle grimaced. She didn't like keeping secrets from Cinderella but the ordeal involving the Isle was something she wanted to try handling herself before allowing things to turn into a full-blown scandal.

"Apparently Adam has decided Anastasia is worthy of returning to Auradon," She let go of Belle's hand and crossed her arms over her chest instead, gaze dropping to her lap since her stepsisters were always a touchy subject. Anastasia in particular since Cinderella dedicated several years of her life in Auradon trying to convince Adam that sending her to the Isle was a mistake.

"The guard asked if the castle has enough space to hold her, Lathyn, and their children," Cinderella's lips formed a thin line. "He wouldn't explain why besides mentioning that the king had taken an interest in… It was either Antonin or Anthony."

She paused to think back on the conversation then shook her head. "No, it was definitely Anthony. Antonin's the one that she had before being sent to the Isle."

There was a beat of silence between the two then Cinderella made a face, grimacing about what she planned on sharing.

"I tried asking Charles what could have caused Adam to have a change of heart and he got mad enough to leave," She grimaced. "I told Chad his grandfather called Charles to help set something up for the sake of not ruining his Christmas."

Cinderella scratched at the back of her neck with her left hand, looking saddened after having admitted she lied to her son. Belle pressed her lips together to suppress the frown that was trying to spread over her lips. She took hold of Cinderella's right hand and brought it toward her mouth, lightly pressing a kiss to her knuckles before letting go and looking back up at her.

"I haven't heard much about the other children from the Isle," She admitted then took a deep breath. "But I can have Ben snoop a little to see if we can find out anything about Anastasia's children."

"Why would he want to send her and her family here after two decades of refusing to hear me out?" Cinderella hiccoughed. Her tears were few but that didn't stop her from feeling as though she had failed the one relative she had a decent relationship with. "Two decades."

"I may know why," Belle deadpanned. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she couldn't quite explain. "And I sure hope I am wrong about it."

"What is it?" Cinderella used both hands to wipe the tears from her eyes. Belle couldn't look at her, fearing she would break down as well. "Belle, what did he do?"

"I can't give the whole story," Belle whispered. Her lip quivered despite her best attempts at trying to detach herself from the situation. "But he— There's a reason we pushed Ben's coronation to the middle of the year instead of the end."

"It has something to do with the children from the Isle," Cinderella pinched the bridge of her nose and took a calming breath. "I know things are barely like here. That much was obvious from the few interactions we had."

"Hardly," Belle shook her head and sped through the rest of what she said. "He canceled my plans for a hospital and proper healthcare and decided a sperm bank was the way to go."

Cinderella opened then slowly shut her mouth, having failed to catch half of what was said since Belle spoke far too fast to keep up with. 'Cancelled hospital' and 'sperm bank' were the keywords she picked up on.

"I mustn't have heard you right, darling," She murmured then got off the desk, placing her hands in the pockets of her trousers before she continued. "It sounded like you said no hospital, yes sperm bank?"

Belle gulped back a sob and shakily got to her feet, wrapping her arms around her middle in an attempt at comforting herself.

"Precisely," She whispered, unable to look Cinderella in the eyes. "He— The bastard went with a sperm bank for the Isle and… He roped Auradon citizens into donating to it."

"You're joking," Cinderella gasped out. "You have to be… That doesn't… Those poor children. That doesn't explain why Adam would have an interest in Anastasia. Unless…" She didn't dare finish the sentence since one look at Belle's face left her believing they had the same idea toward why.

"He wouldn't have," The blonde continued. "Not when you spent nearly a decade trying to conceive."

"I don't know what to think of him anymore," Belle answered. Cinderella took a step forward and pulled her in for a hug. They stood in silence for a moment then the blonde shook her head.

"This isn't a secret I can comfortably keep," She murmured and rested her head against Belle's shoulder, glancing up at her when she went to speak again. "I-I'll take Ana and her family in but her being here is going to cause a lot of rumors to spread."

"I know," Belle whispered, taking a moment to hold Cinderella close before she said anything. "It's going to be his undoing and I plan to see how he navigates it. Now, what am I supposed to tell Ben?"

"We don't have the full story," Cinderella mumbled. "I doubt we'll get the full story until Anastasia arrives. But I— I still don't think there is any harm done in trying to figure out why Anthony was the name that got brought up."

"Right," Belle exhaled. She leaned up to peck Cinderella's lips, relieved that the news she delivered hadn't ended with both of them refusing to talk to each other. "I don't think we'll be allowing Adam back here until Ben gets an explanation from him."

"I'd leave him there all together," Cinderella murmured. She usually wasn't one for hoping something bad happened to anyone but Adam had done more than enough to earn an extended stay on the Isle. "Maybe throw Charles over there too."

"Charles too?" Belle looked up at Cinderella, making sure she heard correctly. "Why would you…"

"He stormed out on me the moment I mentioned the Isle, Adam, and Anastasia becoming our newest houseguest," She whispered. "His reaction isn't sitting right with me."

"Thank Merlin I didn't retire my Queen title quite yet," Belle grimaced. "Adam created a mess for our son to clean up."

"I'll help where I can," Cinderella sighed then took hold of Belle's hand and led her toward the doorway. "Here's to acting like we didn't just overwhelm each other with news about our asshole husbands."

"Yup," Belle mumbled and held Cinderella's hand until halfway down the hallway. The two forced smiles when they returned to the room their children were in.


	5. Family Portrait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Chad swap secrets while Belle and Cinderella plan out what happens when Adam returns. The press gets word of the exiled king arriving in Auradon before his family does. One of the redheads that arrives with the Tremaines doesn’t quite look like Anastasia. In fact, the bespectacled child may not even be her kid at all.

The week leading up to New Year’s Eve involved Cinderella and Chad spending a few days with Belle and Ben. Their presence was a welcomed distraction that kept Belle and Ben from stressing over the fact that Adam wasn’t back yet.

Belle was sticking to not allowing her spouse back from the Isle until he explained everything to Ben. She told Ben Adam needed to talk to him before being allowed to return. 

Ben may have been King but Belle wasn’t ready to retire her crown quite yet and likely wouldn’t until certain Ben wasn’t going to get overwhelmed by the mess Adam created.

The extra couple of days gave Cinderella a chance to get the castle situated for her sister’s family of ten.

New Year’s Eve came without Ben hearing a word from his father. The Charmings were over and the teens from the Isle were shocked to learn Chad wasn’t a total prick.

“Mum’s been sad is all. She got one Christmas and New Year with Anastasia’s family then that connection got ripped away when they sent her to the Isle,” Chad mumbled. He hadn’t acknowledged the villain kids and was mid-conversation with Ben. “Did you know your dad gave her husband the choice of staying in Auradon with their son instead of all of them going to the Isle?”

“No, I fear I wasn’t aware of that,” Ben murmured. The more he learned about the conditions of the Isle, the worse things began to seem. “Did he end up staying in Auradon?”

“No,” Mal answered before Chad got the chance to say anything. “He went to the Isle with her and they’ve got like twenty kids.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” Jay added with a chuckle. “There are like seven or eight of them.”

“Still an excessive amount of redheads and blondes,” Mal rolled her eyes. “Anthony’s the only one that didn’t get the light-haired gene.”

“He’s also the only one that Lady Tremaine managed to corrupt,” Jay shrugged. “Nothing special really.”

“You didn’t say that when he said you weren’t his type,” Mal reminded him and stifled a laugh. “Seemed pretty put off if you ask me.”

“Not my fault he’s got a handsome face,” Jay muttered then looked at Ben. “Kind of reminds me of you come to think of it.”

“When you say corrupted…?” Chad arched an eyebrow at Jay. Cinderella told him not to say anything about the family getting ready for the Tremaine family to merge with theirs since she still wasn’t sure if it was going to happen. He couldn’t be blamed for wanting to know what he would have to deal with if they all moved in.

“Lady Tremaine believes he’s got royal blood coursing through his veins,” Evie shook her head. “Same reason why she keeps Dizzy in her care even though Drizella wants nothing to do with her.”

“Wait, seriously?” Mal turned toward Evie. “I thought she only kept her since Driz tried to kill her as a baby.”

“Yeah,” Evie grimaced. “She wanted her last kid to be a male and Dizzy came out instead.”

“He’s b-b-been trying t-t-to g-get people b-back home t-t-to c-call him L-Lord Tremaine,” Carlos added and shook his head, features flushing from his stammer. He hadn’t wanted to talk but that minor detail was something that bothered him.

“Did I ask you?” Chad scowled at Carlos. His expression faltered to a more neutral one since his outburst was met by looks of disbelief from Mal, Jay, and Evie.

“Are we going to ignore that they mentioned a parent trying to kill their kid?” Ben cast a sideways glance at Chad. “And be nice. You’re more of a guest than them at this point.”

“Eh,” Jay shrugged before Chad could try to defend himself. “It isn’t exactly an uncommon thing. Pretty sure we’ve all had a near-death experience because of our parents.”

Chad and Ben shook their heads, continuing to look concerned at the Isle teens.

“Guilty,” Mal rolled her eyes. “Ten days of no food and being confined to the dungeon because mother didn’t appreciate my going through her bedroom.”

“The shelf I slept under almost crushed me,” Jay shrugged. Granted, his father had been concerned for his only child’s wellbeing but that didn’t make up for the family having been forced into a neglectful situation.

“You’ve seen wh-what m-m-momma d-d-did to me,” Carlos shuddered. He had spent over a decade wishing she would accidentally take things too far and leave him dead as a way of taking him out of the misery she caused him.

“Yeah, can’t say I’ve had that happen,” Ben shook his head then looked at Evie. “You made a comment about Lady Tremaine thinking her grandkids have royal blood?”

“Only two of them,” Evie shrugged. “Just Anthony and Dizzy. She never went into detail about why but—” She trailed off and tilted her head at Chad, making a face before she spoke again. “I think we can guess.”

“What is she getting at?” Chad scowled at Ben. “Have you been hiding stuff from me?”

“Just because I’m king now doesn’t mean I need to tell you everything. You’re still one of my best mates but...” Ben shook his head. “It’s too complicated to explain.”

“What about the other Tremaines?” Chad decided to change the subject before it risked his emotions getting the best of him.

“Why do you care?” Jay narrowed his eyes at him. Evie shot him a warning glance. “What? He spent most of our Tourney practices beating me up. Doc didn’t clear me and Carlos to play during the games and he still made a point to put me through hell. I have no reason to believe he’s had a change of heart.”

“M-Me n-n-neither,” Carlos shook his head. He couldn’t think of any pleasant experiences with Chad.

“The way my mother talks about Anastasia didn’t make her sound all that bad,” Chad shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Forgive me for being led to believe some people from the Isle may not be annoying pricks.”

Jay and Mal exchanged a glance, silently questioning if Chad was being honest or if it would be better to threaten to beat him up for his comment.

“All her kids have ‘An’ as the first part of their name,” Evie murmured. She decided to try keeping the little bit of peace that was between Chad and her friends. “The oldest three care a lot about their family. The younger ones are just kids.”

“Anthony is nearly as stuck up as you are,” Jay forced a chuckle, smirking when Chad looked offended.

“And Antoinette is another one that wouldn’t pay attention to your failed attempts at flirting,” Mal laughed. “They all have a lot of rage toward the crown for dooming them to the Isle.”

“Why the sudden interest in them?” Evie asked. Chad shrugged his shoulders and didn’t immediately answer.

“Mum’s been talking about Anastasia a lot because of the holidays,” He muttered. “No other reason.”

“Now I’m beginning to think you’re the one that’s holding back information,” Ben murmured.

“It’s nothing. Nothing important anyway,” He slowly looked the villain kids over then narrowed his eyes at Ben. “I may be willing to share if you let me know what you know.”

“Oh Hades no,” Mal growled out. “You’re not holding anything over our heads. Ben don’t let him manipulate you.”

“Tell him.” Evie, Mal, Jay, and Ben looked shocked since Carlos was the one that spoke.

“Excuse me,” Mal raised an eyebrow at him. The look was usually enough to make him reconsider speaking against her.

“Tell him,” Carlos looked down at his lap since he knew one glance at Mal would leave him not saying anything. “N-N-No harm if it’s g-going to come out eventually. M-M-Make h-him spill.”

Jay and Mal were back to communicating through lip twitches and raised brows. The silent conversation ended with Mal rolling her eyes.

“Fine,” She growled out then glowered at Chad. “But you go first or we aren’t sharing anything with you.”

Chad matched Mal’s look and held it for a moment. Another minute passed then his gaze shifted to Ben, studying his closest friend for a few seconds.

Since his mother had not given him the full story, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would be damaging to Ben. It seemed as though Ben wasn’t aware of the plan for the Tremaines relocating to Castle Charming.

“Mother hasn’t told me everything,” Chad murmured, keeping his eyes on Ben since he didn’t care about the reactions that would come from the villain kids. “So I don’t know why it’s happening.”

“Why what’s happening?” Ben cocked his head to the side. There was something in Chad’s tone that made him sound serious about whatever he needed to share.

“We spent the weekend prepping the castle for houseguests,” Chad answered. His eyebrows furrowed together before he continued. “Mother got asked if we were willing to take Anastasia and her family in. Sounded like your father has something to do with it.”

“To take…” Ben trailed off, gaping at Chad. He slowly closed his mouth and gave him an incredulous look. “What are you playing at?”

“The whole family?” Mal grimaced. She cast a sideways glance at Ben and was relieved to see he seemed just as surprised as she and the others did.

“I’m not playing,” Chad groaned. “A rep of your father’s asked if Charming Castle has space for ten extra people. Do you seriously think I’d joke about my family taking a bunch of VK’s in?”

The group was silent. Mal and her friends exchanged anxious glances with each other then looked at Ben.

“A rep of my father’s,” Ben raised an eyebrow at Chad, waiting to see if the blond cracked a smile or did any of his usual tells toward joking around. Surprisingly, the blond looked serious as could be. A little annoyed if anything else, but there was nothing present to signal a lie.

Chad gave one nod then Ben took his phone from his pocket, looking to see if there was anything from his mother.

“I wasn’t supposed to say,” Chad shrugged his shoulders. “But my mother appears to have agreed to it. We spent yesterday moving guest rooms around.”

“Weren’t supposed to say,” Ben grimaced. “Did your mother say anything to mine?”

“I’d assume so,” Chad wrinkled his nose. “They’ve been awfully close since my outburst.”

He and Ben had practically been raised as siblings. With their spouses busy with keeping the kingdom afloat, Belle and Cinderella turned to each other for support. They believed the friendship between the two boys would be of importance later on.

“No kidding,” Ben chuckled. The laugh earned an odd look from the villain kids. “I swear I spotted a bit of mum’s lipstick on Ella’s cheek yesterday.”

The perplexed looks deepened. Ben and Chad exchanged a shrug then went back to the original conversation.

“I’m not liking all of the sneaking around with any of this,” Chad admitted with a shake of his head. “Mum didn’t want me to say until she was certain it was happening. I’d say making sure the guest rooms can accommodate Anastasia and her children is pretty damn sure.”

“Mum hasn’t told me anything,” Ben wrinkled his nose. “Said my father needed to talk to me but he hasn’t called. I think it’s why he hasn’t been allowed back.”

“Back from where?” Chad raised an eyebrow. Ben pressed his lips together to suppress a frown. The question was innocent enough but served as proof of how little their parents were telling them.

“How much do you want me to say?” Ben turned to Mal. Her eyebrows furrowed together and a sarcastic quip of ‘oh nice of you to remember us’ was on the tip of her tongue. She clenched her jaw to keep quiet then cast a glance at Carlos since he was the one that said to fill Chad in.

“He’s on the Isle,” Carlos exhaled. He didn’t look at Chad in the eye for fear of being chastised for speaking up. “St-Staying with Ana.”

Chad made a face since he didn’t fully catch what Carlos said. He forced out a laugh then glanced at Ben.

“Funny,” He gave another forced chuckle. “Sounds like he said your father is on the Isle.”

“He is,” Ben spoke through gritted teeth. “With the Tremaine family — Anastasia to be exact.”

“Why?” Chad wrinkled his nose. It didn’t make sense outside of noting that they’d moved around the date of Ben’s coronation to an earlier date than originally planned.

“It’s a long story,” Mal muttered and ran her hand through her hair. Chad was one of the last people she expected to be telling anything but a deal was a deal.

“You may want to take a seat,” Jay added and shook his head. Chad looked from him to Mal then back again, eyeing them incredulously before he sat on the sofa.

“Which of us wants to explain?” Mal quirked a brow at her friends, gaze settling on Ben. Jay didn’t meet her gaze and Evie shrugged her shoulders. Carlos not speaking was a given since he hid behind Jay.

“I’ll do it,” Ben grumbled. “Let’s just say my father made a mess and mom and I are trying to figure out the best way of navigating the situation.”

“I’d say it’s more than a mess,” Mal sniffed. “And I’m not even one of the people that’s fully affected by his stupidity.”

“Full out disaster,” Jay shook his head. Chad made a face since they still hadn’t gotten to the point. “We had rumors going around the Isle that Auradon had people providing sperm donations to thin the evil bloodline out.”

“Turns out they weren’t just rumors,” Evie added. “And are completely truthful. With Beast having lost the information about who donated and which villain got what.”

“M-M-Means a f-few of us are h-half Auradon,” Carlos stammered. “H-half Isle.”

Chad was quiet, looking puzzled until he pieced together what was said. “So you sent Adam to the Isle as a punishment?”

“Sort of,” Ben admitted with a frown. “To give him an idea of what he doomed the children growing up there to. He didn’t give any reactions to what Carlos, Mal, Evie, and Jay said about their upbringing.”

“What does Anastasia have to do with any of that?” The blond ran his hand through his hair. He didn’t have a lot of questions about the matter at hand since there was a lot to process.

“She’s the least problematic of the villains on the Isle,” Mal shrugged. “We figured she was the best person to take him in.”

“The army of kids ranging from age five to our age should be enough to guilt-trip him,” Jay shrugged. “Not that I think he can experience that feeling as it is.”

“Then why does he want her coming here?” Chad narrowed his eyes at Jay. The question was met with silence since Ben and the others had yet to come up with a positive answer.

“Assuming Lady Tremaine was right,” Evie began. She pressed her lips together to suppress the frown that was trying to form. “One of Anastasia’s children may have a parent from Auradon.”

“And knowing Anastasia,” Mal rolled her eyes. “She probably insisted on the whole family being brought over instead of letting the kid go here on their own.”

“What happens to the other children?” Chad asked. “The other ones who have parents from here?”

“We’re working on that,” Ben grimaced. “I hope to find the paperwork my father ‘misplaced’ and get started on offering children a chance to come to Auradon. They won’t be going to their other birth parent but they do rightfully own a spot at Auradon prep.”

“So more people coming over,” Chad managed to keep his look of distaste from fully appearing. “You realize the media will have a frenzy?”

“I’m aware,” Ben scoffed. “And I’m going to make father do the talking for it since he’s the reason the new plan is coming into play.”

“And if they don’t want to come to Auradon?” Mal asked and raised an eyebrow at Ben.

“Then we start working on making things better for the Isle,” Ben shrugged. “I can’t force people to come over here if they don’t want to.”

The conversation lulled to the point of the teens quietly talking amongst themselves. Chad got in the habit of occasionally badgering one of the Isle teens with questions about Anastasia and her family.

On the other side of the castle, Belle and Cinderella were discussing the best way to go about breaking the news to Benjamin.

Belle was at a loss since she had a feeling the only reason her husband had taken an interest in Anastasia and her family was because he ended up fathering one of the kids. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have with Ben and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to having to talk to her husband about it.

“He hasn’t said anything,” The brunette ran both hands through her hair and groaned. Being aware that the Isle didn’t have good service should have been enough to prevent her from worrying. “Yet he had it in him to go to you instead of involving me and Ben in it.”

“I think he may have been expecting me to say no,” Cinderella murmured. The blonde pressed her lips together in an attempt at masking her frown. “Me, expected to say no after two decades spent trying to convince him he made a mistake.”

“What am I supposed to tell Ben?” Belle groaned. “If our assumption is right it means eight villain children transferring to Auradon Prep and one of those eight being half related to him.”

“Not to mention needing to gauge how traumatized they are,” Cinderella added. “I can get a feel of that on my own but if they’re anything like the four that are currently here we may need to immediately introduce counselors to them.”

“Surprise, we have eight kids from one family coming over because your father is a bastard and decided to father a child through his so-called ‘brilliant’ idea,” Belle muttered sarcastically. She was fuming inside and truly feared not being able to keep control of her temper once reunited with her husband.

“It’s not the bloody kid’s fault,” She added and shook her head. “Can’t fault him for being born through circumstances beyond his and my control. But… Why did he have to do this to me — to us?”

“I don’t know,” Cinderella sighed and took hold of Belle’s hand, gently squeezing to see if that would make her anxious look ease up.

“I — I don’t want to talk to Ben about it,” Belle groaned. “I don’t even want to talk to Adam about any of it.”

“You’re going to have to,” The blonde reminded her. “It won’t be easy but this isn’t the sort of thing that can just be swept under the rug.”

Belle’s phone vibrated in her pocket and caused her to jump back, her eyes widening at the message she received.

“The limo’s been spotted heading this way,” She groaned. “Picture proof that he was serious about bringing kids over.”

She offered her cellphone to Cinderella and ran both hands through her hair, muttering about her husband beneath her breath.

_ More villain kids arrive from the Isle.  _ The headline read. A picture of three terrified looking redheads peering out of a half-open window could be seen beneath it.  _ A visit to the Isle of the Lost ended with Adam returning with several children in tow. With no statement from the royal family, their identities remain unknown. _

“For goodness sake,” Cinderella groaned. “I’m going to have to take Chad and head home to welcome them. Those poor dears. He couldn’t have given a warning?”

“This is Adam we’re talking about,” Belle grimaced. “I don’t know what to expect of him anymore but where he’s the one that made the mess, he’s the one that can dig himself out of the hole he’s in. I need to let Ben know before he finds out from one of his friends.”

“I’ll grab Chad. Hopefully, he is feeling up to returning home with me,” Cinderella murmured. The two left the room they were in and approached the sitting room, looking slightly relieved since the teens didn’t appear to get the news update.

“Mother,” Ben murmured when Belle entered the room. Chad greeted his mother then he and Ben exchanged a glance.

“How long were you planning on keeping the Tremaines a secret?” Ben raised an eyebrow at his mother. Belle tilted her head to the side.

“I wasn’t,” She answered and shook her head. “Your father was supposed to let you know since he didn’t feel the need to directly tell me.” Ben opened then slowly shut his mouth, not wanting to start an argument.

“As the king shouldn’t I know?” He asked through gritted teeth. “Or was the plan having them show up unannounced and surprising me with the news?”

“Hardly that,” Belle shook her head. “I needed time to process and didn’t want to have this talk in front of everyone.”

“I already know everything else that’s going on,” Chad held both his hands up then looked at his mother. “We made a deal of sharing information to get what the other had — It’s all Mal’s fault.”

“Hey,” Mal narrowed her eyes at him. “That was only because you tried to pull a fast one and hold it over our heads.”

“Well the public is going to have to know at some point,” Chad snapped. Mal made a face at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

“They already know,” Cinderella admitted. Her words earned a sharp gasp from a few of the teens and six sets of eyes on her.

“Excuse me?” Ben asked and wrinkled his nose. Cinderella gave a grim nod and eyed her son.

“Adam has returned with a few children in tow,” She sighed. “Didn’t say a thing to anyone and the press has already published that new villain kids are coming over from the Isle.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Ben groaned and cringed since he swore in front of his mother and Cinderella. Neither adult said anything so he continued to talk. “How far was he?”

“We got the update when he was over the bridge,” Belle muttered. “I’m surprised Audrey didn’t end up calling you about it.”

“We’re going to have to say something about it,” Ben grumbled. “I gave an announcement about the original plan and this — this wasn’t part of it.”

“No, Benjamin,” Belle shook her head at her son. “You won’t be saying anything. We’ll leave your father to it.”

“You’re certain that’s a good idea?” Ben raised an eyebrow at her. “After everything he’s put the Isle through…”

“They’re going to ask why he was there and why the family was allowed back. Anastasia is outspoken enough to say if he lies,” Belle muttered. “I have a feeling his actions are to blame for it.”

“His actions?” Ben looked perplexed, not quite understanding what his mother was getting at.

“His actions,” Belle nodded. “One of the children must be related to him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have batted an eyelash.”

“He’s seriously worse than Maleficent at this point,” Jay scoffed. His words earned a glare from Mal and Evie. “You can’t act like it isn’t true anymore.”

“Related to…” The realization hit and Ben paled, silent for a moment before he rapidly shook his head. “No. He wouldn’t have— Couldn’t have. Not with…”

“It’s only speculation,” Belle murmured. She didn’t have anything helpful to add and made a face. “But the sudden interest and going behind our backs seems like he was trying to cover something.”

“I-I—” Ben stammered then looked at Mal, uncertain of what to say. “I need to go for a run. I’ll be back.” He left the room after that and took off down the hallway and out the back door of the property, taking off running in the cold winter air.

Chad, Evie, Mal, Jay, and Carlos were silent, staring at the spot Ben had been standing in.

“That’s not how I wanted that to go,” Belle spoke in a whisper and pressed her head against Cinderella’s shoulder. She managed to maintain a strong front but her insides were reeling. Regret and sorrow were pooling in her stomach and she couldn’t do anything about it.

“Should I go after him?” Jay asked after a prolonged period of silence. Belle shook her head and didn’t say anything.

“Nah,” Chad muttered. “He’s going to need to cool down and he’ll be back.” He had seen it happen far too many times to keep track of. Going after him only ever prolonged his absence.

“You’re certain they’re on their way?” Mal asked calmly. She pulled her hair back into a half ponytail.

“L-Look.” Carlos held up his phone. The article Belle had read was clearly displayed on his screen. 

“There are the twins, and…” He trailed off then turned the screen toward Evie, uncertain if he was seeing the picture correctly. The girl beside the twins looked familiar but he could have sworn she wasn’t one of Anastasia’s children.

“Dizzy?” Evie’s squeal earned looks of confusion from Chad, Belle, and Cinderella. “How’d they manage to get her in there?”

“Dunno,” Carlos shook his head and shrugged. He pocketed his phone then looked expectantly at Belle and Cinderella.

“We don’t know if they’re coming here or going to ours,” Cinderella murmured. “I’m going to head home just in case.”

“I’m going to stay here,” Chad announced. “Unless you want me to go with you.”

“Ben’s going to need support,” His mother shook her head. “I can rope your father into helping prepare the final touches for their arrival.”

“Are you sure?” Chad asked. Cinderella nodded her head then turned to go.

“Call me if they end up here,” She murmured. “I’m going to make a stop to grab Anastasia’s favorite flowers on the way.” Flowers wouldn’t make up for the time spent on the Isle but she hoped something familiar would be enough to get her to smile.

“Can do,” Chad nodded then pressed his lips together, looking down at his feet since he didn’t have anything else to say.

The limousine pulled into the driveway of Belle and Adam’s castle just as Ben was returning from his run. He got through the door and heard the familiar sound of gravel crunching beneath tires. A quick trip to his room was necessary to look a little more presentable then he returned to the sitting room.

Ben didn’t say a word to his mother and took hold of Mal’s hand for support, jaw clenching before he went to speak.

“They’re here,” He announced and squeezed Mal’s hand. “We should greet them.”

Mal cast a glance in her friends’ direction, locking eyes with Jay then Evie before she gave her head a shake.

“Do you mind if I send Evie?” She asked. Evie’s eyebrows rose since she expected to be the last person to get to see them. “She knows them a little better than I do.”

“Fine,” Ben gave a diplomatic nod and released Mal’s hand. He took off walking with Evie following behind him.

The two arrived in the entryway of the castle and took a seat at the bottom of the steps that led to where the bedrooms were. They didn’t say anything and immediately stood up when the door opened.

Adam held the door open and didn’t say anything past having requested that the family wait in the foyer so he could gather a few things and phone the healer to get a look at Anthony’s arm.

Anastasia and her husband lurked in the doorway. Their children stood in front of them. Ben didn’t acknowledge his father when he passed by, taking his time in looking over the family of ten.

The children were better dressed than Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were when they arrived. Clothing still didn’t seem to fit right but they had received the goods he and his mother promised in exchange for the family keeping his father out of trouble.

“My name is Ben,” He announced once he finished looking them over. None of the children were looking at him. It was rather perplexing since a few of them seemed to be around his age. “King Benjamin. I apologize for the way we are meeting since this was not how I planned on things going.”

“Save your breath,” Anastasia muttered. “Your father should be the one doing the apologizing, not you or any of us.”

“Right,” Ben pressed his lips together in an attempt at hiding his confusion. “Uh, I have Evie with me since I figured you could use a familiar face from the Isle. We didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Evie?” One of the girls gasped out. She was the only one with glasses on, having been snuck into the mix since Anastasia figured the child could do with a change of scenery and wouldn’t be missed by her sister.

The redhead cast a nervous look at her aunt and earned a nod from her then ran to where Evie stood, promptly latching her arms around her waist. Her form shook from holding back tears and she gave Evie a watery smile.

“I can’t believe my luck,” She hiccoughed then pressed her face against Evie’s blouse, refusing to let go.

“Unbelievable,” Evie whispered and hugged Dizzy close, grip tight since she was afraid she would disappear if she let go. “Who do I owe a thank you for getting you here and what happened to Anthony?”

“Ask him,” Dizzy sniffled and looked up at Evie. The news wasn’t going to be good so she didn’t want to ruin the moment with it. She took a step away from Evie and chewed at her lower lip, gaze focused on her shoes.

“Anthony,” Evie exhaled. He didn’t look up at her when she spoke. A sharp inhale of breath was the only sign he gave toward having heard her. She cautiously eyed his appearance and winced when she spotted the makeshift sling around his arm. “You look like you had a run-in with Carlos’s bullies.”

“Worse than that,” Anthony muttered. He shifted his head to make his hair cover the bruise on his cheek. “I come bearing a message for Mal.” His voice never went above a whisper. The next part left Evie needing to lean in to hear what he had to say.

“Maleficent says she’s watching and waiting,” He shook his head. “She is plotting her revenge and called you and the others a bunch of liars.”


	6. Whistle While You Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Belle, and the VK's set out on finding the paperwork Adam misplaced and is refusing to assist in finding. Cinderella learns a little more about the Isle from Anastasia's oldest sons.

Once the Tremaines and Charming families were situated, Ben and Belle were left with the task of figuring out what to do with Adam. He proved to be no help and the teens from the Isle were set on giving him the silent treatment for the last part of the holiday.

The Charmings requested a week of allowing the Tremaines to get situated before having the teens from the Isle start pestering them with questions. None of Anastasia's children had an interest in talking to anyone and Cinderella wanted them to get used to the castle before introducing more change into their lives.

Conversations were minimal when it came to Belle, Adam, and their son. Ben was unhappy with the two, more so his father than anything else. He hadn't appreciated not being told what was going on but understood it would have been better coming from his father.

The only thing they spoke about as a family was locating the files his father misplaced. Adam was of little help and gave half-answers that led to their narrowing their search down to two different rooms.

The work was evenly split between Ben, Belle, Mal, Carlos, Evie, and Jay. Ben, Mal, and Jay tackled the first room while Evie, Carlos, and Belle went through the second one.

Being in Adam's study left Belle ready to scream since they had vastly different organizational systems. She preferred keeping things neat, tidy, and organized alphabetically while her husband appeared to have separated everything by year without giving a specific label to what each folder that was filed away contained.

It took twenty minutes of rifling through papers for them to catch on to the organization system, with Belle able to provide an estimated guess about which files might have the information they were looking for.

The period of time involved a decade's worth of files with the first four proving to have nothing of interest. Carlos quickly got distracted by blueprints of the original plan for the Isle of the Lost while Evie and Belle continued to browse through filing cabinets.

"Half of this stuff doesn't exist," He muttered to himself and wrinkled his nose. The blueprints for Belle's hospital were the ones he paid the most attention to, finding it odd that the necessity hadn't been included.

Evie opened the next filing cabinet and coughed from the dust that filled the air. She cautiously moved aside a few plain-looking folders and came across a rather heavy sealed file that was labeled 'Plan X' at the very bottom of the drawer.

She kept quiet and cautiously pulled it out of the cabinet. Her teeth dug into her lower lip and she ran her fingernail along the outer envelope's seal, breathing out a sigh of relief when she discovered the adhesive seal had dried up.

The envelope came off and revealed another envelope. The new one had a 'PROPERTY OF THE KING' stamp, complete with a beast logo below the words, across it that left her feeling sick to her stomach.

Anxiety came from nowhere and left Evie standing still. Her hands trembled while she thought over her next move. There were two possibilities of what was inside the carefully taped file — the information they were looking for or something meaningless to her and Carlos.

Her hesitation went unnoticed by the others, Carlos only taking note when he spotted her trembling hands after looking up from the last blueprint he was eyeing.

"E?" He asked in a whisper just loud enough for her to pick up on. Her gaze snapped to him and he tilted his head to the side. "You okay?"

Evie shrugged and kept quiet, jaw clenching when she used her fingernail to slice through the tiny bit of tape that kept the file shut. Carlos rolled the blueprint he was looking over up and carefully put it back in the cabinet he was assigned to, inching closer to Evie once it was safely put back.

All that was left was opening it and seeing what Adam wanted kept secret.

"I can't do it," She whispered and offered the folder to Carlos. He shook his head when he spotted the stamp on it, not liking the additional weight the file seemed to carry.

"Do... D-Do you think?" His face paled and he gave his head another shake, unable to finish the thought.

Evie nodded at him and wrapped her arms around her middle. The two jumped when Belle addressed them, having forgotten she was in the room with them.

"I suppose we should take a snack break," She murmured. It had been well over an hour of going through cabinets. Ben and the others hadn't found anything so far. "Are you two okay?"

The question escaped after she noticed their pale faces. They were shaking a little and appeared to be staring at a file in Carlos's hands. Neither of them said anything at first. Evie nodded at Carlos then he offered the file to Belle.

"I think I found it," Evie murmured and took a step closer to Carlos. She took hold of his hand and squeezed, holding her breath while Belle looked over the file's label.

"Do you want me to open it?" Belle asked softly. She worried her lip when she caught the anxious looks Carlos and Evie had.

"Yes please," Evie answered. Carlos nodded from beside her. The two stepped closer together, properly embracing once Belle opened the folder. She didn't say anything at first.

The topmost pages had meeting notes from shortly after the Isle of the Lost opened. She glanced it over and wrinkled her nose when the first reference to the project popped up. The second set of notes contained information for getting Adam's plan in place. Any references to names were down to initials or one letter being written down except for a sentence about Aladdin being kicked out for disagreeing with the plan.

Belle took the file over to her husband's desk and sat at it, unable to keep a neutral expression since she could feel the anxiety oozing from Carlos and Evie. The two followed her and cautiously eyed the desk, looking as though they were waiting for the folder to catch fire or explode in their faces.

She removed the first two sets of meeting notes and set them down at the edge of the desk so they were facing Evie and Carlos. They didn't move to read them but appreciated she was being open about communicating with them.

Curiosity was usually something that got Carlos into trouble. This time around, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what other contents were inside the file. The very idea of Auradon actively supporting thinning out the Isle's bloodline left him feeling sick to his stomach.

For Evie, the unknowns were overwhelming. The majority of her life was spent cooped up with her mother. The knowledge that her father may have been someone from Auradon left her feeling angry about the man's disregard for her own needs and the other children like her.

Carlos squeezed Evie's hand and she jumped, snapping out of her thoughts. She and he were back to staring at the file Belle was going through.

"I believe you found it," Belle murmured. Her words earned a gasp from the two. Neither said anything else though, having assumed she had more information to share. "I may need some time to look things over. There's a lot of half papers and initials and numbers that don't seem to make sense."

"Can you ask Adam about it?" Evie asked in a whisper. Belle's expression turned grim.

"I'm not sure that would be wise," She admitted. "Not until we have the documents copied and backed up on a secure server. With how secretive he's been, I fear handing them over to him will turn into his getting rid of them for good."

Evie and Carlos exchanged a wary glance with each other. The information was far too important to simply handover and risk losing everything. Belle had proven to be trustworthy so far but they still weren't certain they could trust her.

"You could have Jay or Mal look the initials over," Evie murmured. "They know almost everyone from the Isle so if it's something associated with women back home one of them should be able to crack it."

"Those should be the easy part," Belle admitted and handed over a stack of papers that were separated by paper clips. "It's the numbers that don't make sense."

"What do you mean?" Carlos asked, teeth digging into his lower lip when he spotted a piece of paper with a '00' on it.

"I assume it's a reference to the donor," Belle shrugged and continued rifling through what was left in the file. It was significantly less thick once the numbered packets were removed. "We have double zero through eleven but there is no reference to who the Auradon half of the equation is."

"Double zero through eleven," Evie's eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "So that makes… Twelve donors? What's the significance of the double zero though?"

"I don't know," Belle grimaced. "Perhaps someone that does not want their involvement in the project known. There is only one paper attached to it."

"What else is left?" Evie asked. Even with the twelve packets removed, the file still seemed bulky.

"Planning for how the building would be run, more papers with references to the numbers but still no proper description or hints about their identities," The queen shook her head. "I'm going to need to thoroughly read through the meeting notes to sort out the name references."

Carlos glanced down at his phone since it buzzed in his pocket. A message from Mal popped up, asking how things were going. He narrowed his eyes at Belle then looked back down at his phone to quickly text a response back.

_We found it. Bring Ben with you. Not sure if the adults can be trusted with the information. Can't make sense of it since they used numbers and initials to keep information hidden._

He sent the text then looked back up at Belle, teeth digging into his lower lip while he struggled to find his voice.

"Anything saying C-D-V or C-V?" His voice shook when he spoke. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted the information in full but it would help figure out why they thought his mother was fit enough to bring a child into the world.

"Not yet, love," Belle answered. "I'm reading over the meetings. They were still sending donations over last year. The first order of business will be to properly shut that down."

"What about the donors?" Evie crossed her arms over her chest. "Shouldn't they have some sort of repercussions put in place?"

"Once we figure out who they are, yes," The queen murmured. "It's going to take small steps to figure out but we'll get it done. I intend to keep you two, Mal, and Jay informed about everything."

"They should be made to give back whatever they got for donating," Evie shook her head. "Maybe give a fraction of it to the children that came out of it and put the rest toward making the Isle livable."

"That's a brilliant idea, Evie," Belle nodded. The planning involved would require a lot of work. "Make sure you suggest that to Ben as well."

There was a moment of silence while Carlos and Evie looked over the papers Belle set out for them to read. Things were interrupted by the arrival of Mal, Jay, and Ben after several minutes spent looking over papers.

"I can't make sense of it," Evie shook her head. "Maybe Mal will be able to do a better job."

"You found it?" Mal's voice made Carlos and Evie jump away from the table since they hadn't heard anyone come in.

"Yeah," Evie took a steadying breath to keep her voice from shaking. "And he's got it coded by numbers and initials. The only name that properly pops up is Aladdin's and it's because they list what they planned on doing to him if he told the public about what was happening."

"For fuck's sake," Mal groaned. "I didn't think he was smart enough to pull something like that off and keep it a secret." She paused to look at Ben and Belle then made a face. "Full offense in regards to my comments about Adam."

"No offense taken," Ben forced a chuckle then approached where his mother stood.

"Two layers of envelopes to get to it," Evie murmured. "Hidden at the bottom of one of the cabinets."

"There appear to be twelve donors but your father didn't keep things organized in a way that's easy to understand," Belle admitted with a shake of her head. "We have double zero through eleven. Short summaries of the donors that must have been given out but no initials or any hints toward their identities attached to what I've read so far."

"What about the people from the Isle?" Jay asked and took a step closer to where Carlos stood. His eyebrows furrowed together when he was handed one of the meeting note packets.

"I haven't looked at the numbered packets in full. Just briefly glanced through to see if anything stood out," Belle admitted. "How soon are you wanting to look through everything?"

Her question earned a blank look from Mal and Jay. They looked to Carlos and Evie since they were the ones of the group that would be most affected by the information the files had.

Carlos and Evie stared at each other, expressions unreadable until Carlos looked down at his feet and nodded.

"The sooner the better," Evie broke the silence that settled over her and her friends. "That way we aren't worrying when we go back to school."

"You're certain?" Ben asked, expression soft while he took in the anxious expressions that had taken over Carlos and Evie's features.

"What harm can be done?" Carlos whispered. "They— They decided to abandon us before we were born."

"Can't get more disappointing than that," Evie finished for him. "It's not like we're going to want to meet them anyway."

"Not at all," Carlos shook his head. "N-Not with what they let momma do."

"So it's settled then," Ben murmured. "We try to sort the Isle half of things out before we go back to school."

"Agreed," Mal answered. Jay, Evie, and Carlos nodded their heads, expectantly looking at Belle.

"You can split it into sets of two with one person getting three if it's the four of you and Ben looking it over," Belle suggested. "Unless you want me in charge of the extra one."

"Having you do one should work," Evie answered. "Since the files aren't exactly organized very well."

Carlos nodded in agreement. Belle handed the stack of files to him and took a step back.

"You want me in charge?" He gasped out and held the files away from himself. "Are— Are you sure?"

"Positive, Carlos," She nodded. "I trust you with them and I trust Evie, Jay, and Mal with handling them."

"Oh… Kay," He murmured then split up the files, handing two to each of his friends and Ben. He took the second to last two for himself and offered the last file to Belle.

"We need something to write on," Belle took the one he gave her and set it on her husband's desk, rummaging through one of the cabinets beneath it until she pulled out a few blank pieces of paper and pens for everyone.

"I fear we can't mark anything on the original forms," She added then looked at Ben. "Not until we get copies made."

"It's more important to get it over with than it is to scan everything at the moment," He murmured. His words were accompanied by nods from the Isle teens. "Let's get to work."

Things over at Castle Charming could be described as pure chaos. Cinderella was prepared and knew what to expect. Her husband and son weren't ready for the number of tears and confusion that came from welcoming her step-sister and her family into their home.

She had been right in assuming the children would want to be in the same room — having split the boys in one room and the girls in the one beside them. Anastasia and Lathyn were offered a bedroom of their own. They had yet to step into it since the first two days at Castle Charming were spent trying to reassure the children the move wasn't a trick.

Antonin and Anthony risked leaving their room to explore the castle, keeping to the level the bedroom was on since the place was big enough to get lost in.

They made it down two hallways and were about to turn onto the third when they spotted someone on the opposite side of the hallway. The boys exchanged a nervous look and were about to take off running.

"Wait," The soft voice of Cinderella caused them to step back against the wall behind them, both standing up straight and looking down at their feet. Anthony was shuddering since his last interaction with an adult outside of the family turned into his arm getting broken.

"Quit it," Antonin hissed out since they were close enough for him to feel his brother trembling. Anthony bit down hard on his lower lip and switched to tapping his fingers against his thigh in an attempt at calming his nerves.

"Antonin and Anthony, right?" Cinderella asked once she was near the two. Neither of them said anything but the older one gave a nod.

"My word," She exhaled, gaze lingering on the one she assumed was Antonin. Having not seen him since he was an infant left her guessing based on hair color. "I haven't seen you since you were a baby."

The redhead shifted uncomfortably from the attention. He only had stories to remember Cinderella by since he had no recollection of having lived in Auradon.

"You've turned into quite a gentleman," She added. Antonin shrugged his shoulders, glancing up since that was the first time he had heard that word used about himself.

"Yeah, most wouldn't say that about me," He muttered and looked back down at his shoes. He and his siblings had yet to change out of the clothes Auradon gave them. It left them looking like they belonged.

"Any chance of that got lost the moment Beast doomed mother and father to the Isle," He gave a bitter chuckle. "The clothes are just for show since they agreed to take him in. Otherwise, we'd be running around in rags — the items Beast thought best to clothe everyone in."

Anthony used his good elbow to nudge Antonin, not liking the tone his older brother was using.

"Don't get me wrong," Antonin grumbled. "I appreciate your having taken us in but this should have been a decade ago or shouldn't have happened at all."

"I tried," Cinderella murmured sadly. "Two decades spent trying, Antonin. I'm so sorry this didn't happen sooner."

"Save your pity," Antonin spoke through gritted teeth. "I don't want to hear any more of it. If you felt so bad for me, why didn't you offer to take me in?"

"I couldn't do that to your mother," The blonde shook her head. "Not when you and your father were the happiest things she had in her life. She needed a chance at happiness on the Isle."

"There is no happiness on the Isle, ma'am," Anthony spoke up and curled into himself, cradling his arm against his chest. "Not the kind of happy the people out here are used to."

The usually confident teen had been knocked down a peg after dealing with Maleficent. He didn't know what was said to get her to give him up, only remembering that her eyes were a vivid green when her daughter got mentioned.

"We only took Dizzy over since Aunt Drizella has her at a point where one wrong look puts her into tears," Antonin added and shook his head. "She never liked it when any of us cried and her daughter has been kicked out more times than I can count for showing emotions."

"Most of the adults want the boys to be good little soldiers," Anthony admitted. "No backtalk, no opinions unless it's agreeing with what we're told. Same thing with the girls, only more willing to do as they're told the first time things get asked."

"Mother and father got shunned for allowing us to experience our feelings," Antonin rolled his eyes. "Anika and Andre lost a few friendships since parents didn't want their kids exposed to the one family that seems to give a shit about everyone in it on the Isle."

Cinderella didn't know what to say. She expected the conversation to take a turn for the worst — with the two teens screaming at her and claiming she shouldn't have taken them in.

"I don't know why I'm telling you any of this," He added and shook his head. "But you're likely going to regret taking us in. There's too much stuff that happened back home to be negated by visiting Auradon."

Anthony gave a nod in agreement and pressed his lips together to suppress a frown. The whole incident with Maleficent had left him with nightmares and flinching at the smallest of sounds. He wasn't about to ask for help with it and the help certainly wouldn't be coming from his mother's stepsister.

"I plan to try my best to ensure there is a smooth transition for each of you, your parents, and your siblings," Cinderella murmured. "It may have been short notice but I agreed to take you in and do my best to make everyone comfortable. Surely, that must be a start."

"What, did you do it out of the goodness of your heart?" Antonin scoffed. Cinderella tilted her head at his comment. "Try your best just like those two decades spent trying to get the family over here?"

"I don't think I want to see what your best is if it involves two decades worth of work and you ultimately not being the reason why we're allowed here," Anthony scowled. His expression faltered since footsteps were approaching from the hallway he and his brother came from.

"Ah, there you two are," Anastasia called out to her sons. "I was beginning to worry you may have run off."

The two lost the unsavory expressions they pointed at Cinderella and took on an innocent look.

"Just exploring," Antonin spoke up. "Got caught by Aunt Cindy," He made a face at his word choice. "Keeping out of trouble though."

"Is that so?" Anastasia turned to Cinderella, taking in the wary expression she wore.

"Mostly," Cinderella nodded. "They gave a brief overview of the Isle and don't seem to believe I am deserving of their trust quite yet."

Anthony made a face, shocked that she was able to read through the fronts he and Antonin tried to maintain.

"As nice as it was to talk to you, we best get going back before Andre thinks we've abandoned him with our sisters," Antonin muttered. He took hold of Anthony's good arm and led him back down the hallway.

"Sorry about those two," Anastasia sighed and took a step closer to Cinderella. "They're going to be the biggest skeptics about being brought here. Them and Antoinette. The others are too young to fully understand how significant this move is."

"What makes you say that?" Cinderella asked. It was a loaded question that would hopefully give her a better understanding of how to work with the two.

"Antonin has seen too much happen over his twenty-one years of life," Anastasia shrugged. "Reduced to feeling insignificant since the Isle doesn't offer many opportunities once out of school. Anthony is… How much were you told?"

"Just that you and your family were coming — to prep the castle for having ten additional people in it," She admitted with a shake of her head. "No real reason behind it past Adam being adamant you be brought over."

"That's all?" Anastasia asked. Cinderella gave a nod and pressed her lips together to suppress a frown.

"I spent two decades trying to convince him he made a mistake and he dangled allowing you in my home over my head and tried to guilt me if I showed any hint towards saying no," She muttered. "Not that I said no in the first place but he made his guard deflect the majority of the questions I asked. Wouldn't give me any of your children's names or their ages."

"Bastard," Anastasia grimaced. "I'm mostly to blame for the sudden switch. He wanted to take one of my boys back with him from the Isle. I told him it would be all of us coming over or none of us."

"What interest does he have in your boys?" Cinderella asked. The little information she was given by Belle left her with reason to believe Adam may have fathered one of Anastasia's children. She needed to hear it from her stepsister to believe it since her being family-oriented left it hard to believe she would have done something like that to Lathyn.

"It's a long story," Anastasia muttered. "Are you sure you have time to listen to me?"

"Positive," Cinderella nodded. "This week is dedicated to making sure you, your husband, and your children feel welcome in my home. I let the school know I wouldn't be in to oversee their counseling staff since I have work to do here."

"My children don't need work done," Anastasia narrowed her eyes at Cinderella. "Maybe Anthony and Dizzy now that I am thinking about it but that's — What were we on about again?"

"Why the king took a sudden interest in your family," Cinderella reminded her. Anastasia nodded.

"Do you think we can talk over tea?" She whispered. "It'll give me something to do with my hands."

"Of course," Cinderella took off walking toward the small room she occasionally used for tea and looking over assignments. "Will this do?"

She pulled a seat out for Anastasia and claimed the one on the other side of the table, promptly turning the electric kettle on. She offered a selection of tea bags to Anastasia and looked alarmed when the redhead's expression faltered.

"Earl gray is fine," She whispered. "Two sugars and one cream like I used to…" It had been far too long since she was offered a proper cup of tea — not some mixture of leaves and the few edible berries the Isle had to offer.

"Will do," Cinderella answered and grabbed two mugs from the side table, setting one down across from Anastasia and the other by herself.

"Those… No, that can't be," Anastasia shook her head. She lifted the teacup and squinted at the intricate detail work along the side of it. There were a small date and the letters L and A etched around it. "How did you?"

"Belle let me go through and claim the things I thought you would find sentimental before Adam got rid of most of the stuff in the farmhouse," Cinderella suppressed a frown. "I think she secretly had a feeling I would get you back over here. I have your engagement rings and the rattle Antonin used among other things."

"You're too kind," Anastasia whispered. She absentmindedly played with her wedding ring. The gems had fallen out of it over a decade ago and she gave up hope on ever getting it replaced. "I'm— We won't be able to repay you for any of this any time soon."

"I said nothing about repaying me, nor do I expect you to," Cinderella shook her head. "Consider it well deserved after not getting you off there sooner."

"That wasn't your doing," Drizella muttered. "It's all on Adam. This whole stupid mess…" She trailed off and cradled her head in her hands, only looking up when Cinderella set a cup of tea down by her.

"Take a breath, Ana," Cinderella whispered and took a sip of tea. She waited for Anastasia to do the same.

"How much did Belle tell you?" Anastasia asked after taking a long sip of tea. She nearly broke down crying at the taste of it, needing to clench her jaw to keep from allowing her emotions to get the best of her.

"What do you mean?" The blonde tilted her head to the side. "I was only in contact with Adam's guard. She didn't have—"

"Don't be coy with me," Anastasia interrupted. "I know you two are close. Or were…" She wasn't sure anymore but she could have sworn they were friends before she got sent to the Isle.

"Just that her husband was sent to the Isle," Cinderella looked down at her lap. "Well, and why."

"Right," Anastasia's nostrils flared. "Now guess where I come into this."

"I would assume one of your pregnancies came from…" She trailed off and shook her head. "But you found true love with Lathyn."

"I have my true love," Anastasia muttered. "He's the one thing that kept me sane on the Isle. Mother had other plans though."

"Your mother," Cinderella made a face. The woman was nasty to her so she couldn't imagine what she would have done to her own flesh and blood.

"Two daughters, two chances at having grandchildren with royal blood," The redhead shook her head. "She threatened to have someone take Antonin away if I didn't comply. That's how I got Anthony."

Cinderella didn't say anything. Her expression was unreadable at first. It quickly turned to concern.

"Adam is part of the mess because he donated to the project," Anastasia rolled his eyes. "One donation and the assumption it wouldn't do anything since he and Belle were struggling to get pregnant."

She gave a bitter laugh once she got the explanation out. "Waltzed in and assumed I would willingly let him take my kid without complaining. He's lucky I didn't punch him when he confirmed it was his."

"Bloody hell," Cinderella whispered. "What happened with Drizella's attempt?"

"I brought the girl over," Anastasia murmured. "Mother set an expectation of one try and a male coming out of the attempt. I got the male, she got the female and hasn't spoken to me since I told her off for trying to kill Dizzy."

"Dizzy," Cinderella whispered the new name. "Which one is she?"

"The one with the glasses," Anastasia shrugged. "I had her take them off before getting into the limo since I assumed Adam didn't keep track of how many kids I have. She fits right in with the red hair."

"Drizella tried to kill her though?" Cinderella arched an eyebrow. "Is this the same child your boys mentioned constant crying from?"

"Mother took her in after finding her face down in a tub of water, got her out just in time," Anastasia shuddered at the thought. "Took care of her ever since. I've no idea how the girl is as sweet as she is given the circumstances."

"To think Adam made it sound like this would be an easy adjustment," Cinderella shook her thought and reached out to take hold of Anastasia's hand, gently squeezing since she didn't want to do something to upset her. "I'm here to give as much support as I can in seeing the children succeed."

"I appreciate that," Anastasia whispered. "But I think we'll be laying low in here for now. No school until I'm guaranteed the media won't be harping the ten every step they take."

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that updates will be sporadic. The author is chronically ill and working full time during a pandemic.


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